Bells and Blades
by Annamae Tezuka
Summary: The party is brought together to investigate strange activity on the Bridge. Along the way, they meet a mysterious girl at the Oresoren Village...but who is she? Spoilers: Ch. 7 story, Jay's CQ characters.
1. A Request

A long, relaxed week had passed after the resolution of the conflict with Nerifes. Senel and Shirley were staying at Will's house, as they did not have anywhere else to go for the moment. Norma was continuing to live under still-being-negotiated rates at the Dreaming Traveler. Moses was happily loafing around with Giet and his gang of bandits, Chloe was boarding at the hospital, Grune was staying at Will's as well, if only to tend to his suspiciously growing garden, and Jay, true to his nature, was not at a known location, but easily reachable if needed. Everyone was lying low, contemplating what they should do now that peace had been attained. Shirley needed to stay on the Legacy; she was the ambassador between the Ferines and Orerines, and Senel didn't want to leave her side. Norma was going on and on about treasure hunting, while Will was going on and on about rare monster hunting. Chloe was contemplating returning to the mainland, but Grune wanted to stay with the ever-growing gardens she could tend to, Moses wanted to 'be with his boys', and Jay's intentions were, again as usual, unknown.

The seven notes that came to seven of the aforementioned erens inhabiting Werites Beacon caught them completely by surprise, mostly because of who they came from. The handwriting was neat and elegant, but still had the element of a child. Everyone knew this handwriting, as it was none other than Jay the Unseen's script. He requested that they meet at the fountain plaza at a time that would nearly ensure privacy: midnight. Besides that, he reported that he had heard some strange rumors, rumors that they would find…interesting, to say the least. There was nothing more, and so the rest of the story would have to wait until midnight to be told.

In order to make sure that everyone was going to this meeting, the seven stayed at Will's house for the day, until finally the clock read eleven forty five o' clock.

"We should head for the plaza," Will suggested. This was a good idea, as Norma had already fallen asleep from boredom, and it would take an insane amount of effort to wake her up; fifteen minutes was plenty of time to expend said effort and get to the plaza on time.

Jay was waiting at the plaza when the group arrived. He noticed their arrival, but merely nodded as he waited for them to assemble in a meeting-type of formation. There was a pensive look on his face, as though he was contemplating something that brought back bad memories. Since it was obvious that he was waiting for them to start, Senel was the first to speak.

"So, Jay, what did you call us here for?" he asked.

"There have been reports of some strange activity near the Legacy's Bridge," Jay said, "and from

what the reports are saying, we'd better go check them out," Jay told them.

"Should we even ask what they're saying?" Chloe asked tentatively.

"No, but it could be important, so I will say it anyway," Jay replied.

"And it is…?" Moses said impatiently.

"Stop interrupting me, stupid bandit," Jay snapped, "this is a little too important for that. The rumors say that Vaclav has been seen around the bridge."

Moses shut up, his eyes huge. Shirley took a step closer to Senel, who was staring, dumbfounded. Norma and Chloe made an audible gasp, while Will quickly took on his 'deep-in-thought' expression. Grune smiled, and, seeing how everyone else had suddenly become negative, decided to cheer them up.

"Don't worry everybody, everything will be fine," she said in her normal dreamy tone.

"Somehow, you saying that makes me feel better," Moses said, his shock at Jay's report replaced by his crush on Grune.

"Somehow, I think you're alone on that opinion, Red," Norma said, gesturing to the others, who were staring at him like he had just grown five heads.

"Anyway, we should definitely check this out soon," Will said finally, breaking the strange tensions that had been looming around the group.

"Oh, one more thing," Jay said; he seemed a little more inhibited with the next thing he was about to say.

"Hmm? What is it, JJ? You look about ready to confess your love," Norma teased.

Jay started and looked up at her, for he had been staring at the ground. "Shut up, I'm just no good at making requests!" he admitted.

"You have a request?" Shirley asked in surprise.

"Finally need our help, eh, Jay?" Moses said smugly, patting Jay on the head. A dagger nearly pierced his gut in the following second.

"It's not that, it's just…a few hours ago, I received a message from the Oresoren, asking me to come to the village for what they called 'a kinda important matter'. I just wanted to stop at the Oresoren Village first, that's all."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The party was greeted by what Norma quite accurately described as 'a sea of scallops'. The Oresoren had obviously been waiting for Jay to come, crowding the entrance to make sure whatever urgent business they had was seen to right away. The Scallop Brothers, Poppo, Pippo, and Quppo, were at the front of the crowd. When Jay came into sight, they began a rallying cry that echoed among the Oresoren, and rang throughout the village. The walls, streets, and ceilings all cried Jay's name, having the echoed voice of the Oresoren's shouts. When the now riled up group of otters calmed down, Jay took the opportunity to attend to the important matter that had been spoken of.

"What's wrong? It's not often that you call me for something important," Jay asked.

The expression on the Oresoren's faces changed; their happiness grew to one of hesitation and concern. Jay noticed this, as did the rest of the party.

"Did something happen?" he asked, a note of worry now clear in his voice.

"Well," Poppo said, "kinda."

"What happened?"

"We don't mean to bring up a sore subject, Jay," Pippo told him.

"If it is necessary to do so in order to tell me what happened, then please do not hesitate in doing so," Jay replied.

"It's like a repeat of history, Jay," Quppo stated, "we found someone collapsed on the ground, just as we did you."

The party gasped. "Are they all right?" Chloe asked.

"We think, but we're not sure," Pippo admitted.

"How can you not be sure? Didn't you ask them?" Norma huffed impatiently. The Oresoren nodded.

"Well, what did they say?" Moses said eagerly.

"Moses, your stupidity must be breaking a world record," Jay sighed, "The person in question isn't talking, am I correct?"

Moses' angry remarks were lost, as the Oresoren confirmed that Jay was correct.

"I see, so that's why you called me here." Jay said.

"I don't get it," Norma and Moses said together.

"I'm sorry to say that I don't understand the situation too well, either," Will admitted.

"Let me explain," Quppo said, "We found a girl collapsed a few weeks ago. The way she acts is a lot like the way Jay acted when we first found him, so we thought that maybe Jay could, you know, reach out to her."

Moses snorted. "An antisocial brat like Jay, reaching out to someone else? That's priceless."

Norma giggled. "That might take a million years to work."

"You two must be related," Jay snapped, "You're both annoying, carefree loafers, who find the same stupid things funny."

With that, Jay led the way to the home of the Scallop Brothers. Moses and Norma were slightly behind, as they were busy fuming at Jay's remark, and that he had called them alike. On the way, Jay had a few words with the Oresoren.

"If you found this person a few weeks ago, why didn't you contact me earlier?" he asked them.

"Well, we didn't want to bother you, so we decided to only contact you as a last resort in this matter," Poppo said.

"We didn't mean to make you worry," Pippo added.

"It's quite all right. Thank you for your concern," Jay said, treating them to a rare small smile. No more was said, as the group had reached their destination.


	2. Mysterious Newcomer

"Awrite, where is this mysterious person?" Moses asked skeptically; he had resigned his brain to thinking deeper into things, if only to piss Jay off, and maybe, miraculously, prove him wrong for once.

"You doubt us?" Quppo asked boldly, "She's upstairs, in Jay's room."

"Sorry, but we had nowhere else," Pippo added quickly to Jay, who shook his head, indicating that it was no big deal. He then started up the stairs, finally about to settle this matter for the Oresoren.

The door creaked open slowly and silently as Jay entered, then was rudely and loudly slammed as Moses burst in. The party looked around the round room as they walked in, and discovered a strange detail: besides them, there seemed to be no one there.

"See, I told y'all, there ain't no mysterious person!" Moses yelled triumphantly. He was turning to

Jay to give the younger boy a special dosage, but realized that Jay was walking over to a spot in the room, and bent over, saying "Here you are".

Jay had sensed her presence when he had entered the village, but was not sure if it was just his imagination. As they had drawn closer to her location, he had confirmed where she was, hiding in the desolate corner that, surprisingly, used to be his favorite hiding place as well. Her eyes snapped up from looking at the floor; they now gave him a cold stare.

"I didn't mean to startle you," he said gently.

The girl didn't say anything; she merely shook her head, indicating that it wasn't a problem.

"Why don't you come out here?" he asked, standing straight up and offering her his hand. Shaking, she took it, and let him help her up and out into the open.

"When did you become such a ladies man?" Moses asked, looking a little jealous of Jay's contact with a girl.

"What are you talking about?" Jay asked, staring at the bandit as though he had said something wholly intelligent; in other words, he was looking at him as though he were crazy.

"Red is talking about how you just acted like a social butterfly, JJ!" Norma yelled, "That's totally unlike you!"

"How is a simple act of kindness a characteristic that is only attributed to social butterflies?" Jay asked coldly.

"Would you three cut it out? We have more important matters," Will interrupted, gesturing to the girl.

"What is your name?" Senel asked, beginning the interrogation. There was no answer, as the girl had not yet spoken.

"Can you understand us?" Will asked; this question elicited a nod.

"Why won't you talk?" Moses asked.

"Why won't you shut up, Moses, you aren't helping," Jay snapped.

"Will you at least show us what you look like?" Moses asked, ignoring Jay. To everyone's surprise,

the girl let go of the cloak, and let it fall to the ground, revealing shoulder-length, wavy blonde hair, blue eyes, and a black trench coat, which covered whatever clothing she had on. Jay's eyes seemed to harden slightly as he saw this.

"Okay, now that we know at least what you look like," Norma started, "what's your name? Why were you collapsed where the Oresoren found you? Why i are /i you being so quiet? Besides the fact that Red's a giant moron, he's actually a harmless teddy bear, just like Giet is more like a little fluffy doggie rather than a Galf, so there's no reason to be scared."

"Norma, the way you're talking, you might not be helping in the 'not scaring' part," Chloe said.

"What do you mean, C?" Norma demanded.

"Bombarding her with questions may not be the best thing to do," Chloe told her.

"Chloe's right," Shirley agreed, "If she doesn't want to tell us anything, it's her choice."

"But even just her name!" Norma complained.

The argument about whether or not the girl should be made to talk dragged on, creating a long string of commotion in Jay's room. Jay was not a part of this; instead, he and the mute girl being discussed stood quietly in a corner, observing all that was happening. Finally, Jay's ears were hurting, and he couldn't stand the arguing any longer. "May I talk to you outside?" he asked the girl, who nodded.

Outside the Scallop Brothers' home, near the contraption composed of hammers banging on a scallop, Jay sighed.

"Please excuse the hubbub," he apologized, gesturing towards the house, "it seems that my comrades' methods of gaining information are, for the most part, inefficient."

The girl nodded in agreement.

"I don't mean to be rude, but could you please speak your responses?" Jay asked of her.

"…Very well," the girl answered; her long-hidden voice came out mechanically and monotonously.

Jay started, taking a step back. The others had been futilely badgering her to speak a thousand times; he had asked only once, and she had complied. He voiced this surprise to her. His explanation was simple:

"You are more like me, and you seem more trustworthy than the others, especially the tall redhead and peppy brunette watching us at this moment; I believe their names were Moses and Norma."

Sure enough, Jay soon found Moses and Norma doing a horrible job of spying; they were easy to spot, as they constantly poked their heads around the house. What amazed Jay was that the girl had noticed them, even though her back had always been facing their location. After chasing the bandit and the treasure hunter back inside, Jay continued with his strange sort of interrogation.

"So…what is your name?" he started. There was an uncomfortable silence, so Jay moved on to the next question.

"Why were you collapsed where the Oresoren found you?" he continued.

"Let's just say that I have enemies, and I was careless that day," she told him.

"Were you headed somewhere?"

"Yes, I was headed to the Bridge; though oddly enough, the reason why is currently escaping me."

"Hey, Jay! Stop flirting, it's time to come inside!" Moses called out, waving to Jay from the house. If it weren't for the reflexes gained from wielding a spear and from a life full of fighting, Moses would have soon been much worse off than having a dagger come within a centimeter of his hand.

Once inside, Jay explained to the now-calm group the details of the girl's situation. When he mentioned that she had been heading to the Bridge, Senel then proposed that they take her along with them on their journey, as they, too, were headed for the Legacy's Bridge.

"Oh, no, I couldn't trouble you…" the girl mumbled, startled by the thought.

"Wow, Jay, what'd you do to get her talkin'?" Moses elbowed Jay, a mischievous grin on his face.

"I merely asked her to speak," Jay spat out; he had been asked this same question by both Moses and Norma at least a hundred times. Meanwhile, Senel and Shirley were trying to convince the girl that it was okay if she came along.

"Really, we want you to come," Shirley pleaded.

"But…" the girl was seemingly starting to give in.

"Hey, Jay, could you come over here?" Senel called, giving Jay a reason to leave Moses fuming; he had been about to rant, but Jay was now spared. Jay walked over, and, already knowing everything that had gone on in the conversation, spoke.

"We'd really like it if you could come along," he said simply, looking the girl straight in the eye. Sighing, it was obvious that she had given up on changing their minds.

"Very well," she conceded.

There was now no opposition to this idea, and so nine people prepared to head out back to Werites Beacon, use the duct to get to the far shore of Raging Bay, and go from there to the Bridge. Even though the Oresoren Village was very near the Bridge, the chance of enemy encounters decreased if they took the longer route. By the time they reached Werites Beacon, it had become late, so the entire group stayed at Will's house.


	3. Night and a Fight In Werites

"Hey," Norma said to their mysterious companion, "what's your name?"

She had formed a group of all of the girls in the house, so that six girls were huddled in a corner of the living room. Harriet had joined in because she did not want to be anywhere else, mostly because Will was on the couch. He was talking to Senel about something; what it was did not matter, the fact that Will was there did to Harriet. On the couch opposite Will and Senel, Moses was trying to inch closer to Jay, who was moving away from Moses, so that every inch he gained was immediately lost. Moses' reasons behind his behavior were nearly the same reason as Norma's to create a group. In a case of Norma and Moses creating a truce for what they saw as a greater good, the two had decided to see what was up between the new girl and Jay; it was obvious that something was going on, at least on the girl's part. The interrogation of Jay was a measure taken to be thorough. Norma's interrogation, however, was the basis of their investigation; it was obvious that she was also slightly annoyed that she couldn't give the girl a nickname.

"My name incurs danger," the girl said shortly.

"So? We've faced a million dangerous situations before," Norma huffed, "haven't we, G-Girl? Shirl? C?"

"It's true, we were the ones that stopped the Radiant from causing a second Cataclysm," Chloe agreed.

"Which was my fault," Shirley sighed.

"It wasn't your fault, Shirley," Chloe reassured her, "And besides, that's all in the past. Everything is better now."

"It was fun," Grune said airily.

"Okay, next question," Harriet begged Norma, "you promised we'd play a round of this 'Question Game' for everyone!"

"Good point," Norma grinned; she was obviously glad that Harriet had given her an opportunity to continue.

"Yeah, next question," Norma continued, "do you like Jay? You know, the short one over there?"

"I don't understand the question," came the reply.

Norma sighed in exasperation. "Do you love Jay? Have a crush on him? Anything like that?"

Blue eyes actually stared at Norma for a moment, before the girl answered "Such an absurd

question; of course I don't have a "crush" on him."

"Oh, really?" Norma said skeptically, "then how come you only listen to everything he says?"

"I'm listening to you."

"That's not what I meant! When he asked you to talk, you talked! When he asked you to come along with us, you agreed, even though you were insisting that we didn't bother! I doubt you'd be talking to us at all, if he hadn't requested that you use your voice!"

"That sounds like a crush to me," Harriet grinned.

"It is not. I sense I can trust him, that is all," she said. Her body and language said nothing to confirm or refute this statement, so Norma could not be sure if it was in the least bit believable.

Norma was about to turn around and see how Moses' interrogation with Jay was going, when the girl she had just been interrogating leapt up and grabbed something that seemed inches away from Norma's head. She saw the looks of mixed shock and horror on the faces of the other girls, so she slowly turned her head, only to jump straight back into Grune's lap, as a spearhead was only a few inches from her face.

"That was a reckless—no, even a stupid—thing to do, throwing spears aimlessly," the girl said monotonously as she sat back down.

"Wh-what happened?" Chloe stammered; she was the only one who was able to speak after whatever had nearly happened.

"The redhead, was speaking to Jay-san; the redhead became angry, and began throwing spears," the girl reported, making gestures towards a few other spears, including one sticking out at an amazing ninety-degree angle to the kitchen counter.

Norma finally recovered from her near death encounter, and reacted to the comment about Moses being stupid.

"You hit the nail on the head; Red is definitely the stupidest person here," she said. "Even Spot has more of a brain than him."

"She means Giet, Moses' Galf," Chloe explained.

"He should apologize for that," Harriet growled.

"Hey, Red! Apologize!" Norma bellowed; Moses turned around in shock.

"Apologize? Why? I didn't do nothin'!" he yelled back.

"You call nearly impaling me with a spear nothing?!" Norma screamed.

"I…what?" Moses was obviously confused.

Jay sighed. "While you were throwing your spears all over the place, you must have thrown one at Norma's head, stupid bandit."

"How despicable, attacking a comrade!" Chloe snapped.

"You could at least apologize," Shirley said angrily.

"I…I'm sorry," Moses said; the look on his face showed that he truly meant it.

"You know, you're lucky Norma's here to be apologized to! That thing was stopped inches from her head!" Harriet snarled.

"Spears don't stop in midair," Moses said.

"Of course not," Jay sighed, "something must have stopped it."

"Our new friend saw it coming and caught it, I think," Grune said, trying to remember exactly what it was that happened.

"Yeah, thanks," Norma said.

"It was a reflex," the girl said humbly; she still had the spear, and was examining it with what could almost be interpreted as mild interest.

"Could I have my spear back?" Moses asked, walking over.

"No. Your possession of this spear is too dangerous," the girl said.

"Good logic," Jay commented.

"Well, after y'all go to sleep, how do you know I won't just take it back?" Moses tested.

"Simple. You will fall asleep before I do, as it is obvious that you intend to try and take the spear back through force. Since you are on the offensive, you will use more energy, as I will merely be dodging."

"Very good logic," Jay muttered, "and a good idea. I should try that sometime with Moses myself."

"Well, let's see about that!" Moses said, accepting the masked challenge, and lunging at the girl, who was holding his spear captive. True to her word, she dodged his assault. He tried again, with the same results. After almost an hour and a half of this, her logic became the truth, as Moses grumblingly gave up and nearly passed out on his feet.

Jay gave the girl a rare grin. "Impressive," he said.

"It was a basic strategy," the girl shrugged.

Norma stretched and yawned. "I don't know about you guys, but I'm gonna go to sleep; I need to be nice and rested to rub the fact that Red fell asleep before anyone else in his face."

Harriet also yawned. "Not to mention I don't feel like passing out like Moses."

"Yes, that is a humiliation nobody else but Moses should ever have to endure," Jay agreed.

After about half of an hour, a majority of the group had fallen asleep. Moses was still flopped in front of the couch, which Chloe was stretched out on. Norma and Shirley were upstairs in the guest room, which was next to Harriet's room. Grune was in the corridor near the bathroom, sleeping next to all of the plants. Senel, Will, and Jay were still up, however, talking on the couch opposite Moses and Chloe. Their subject was, of course, the girl who had chosen to sleep on the floor in the room that Norma and Shirley were sharing, meaning that she, too, was sharing the room.

"It's suspicious that she won't give us her name," Senel said.

"Not only that, but she won't divulge any information about herself at all; not even to Jay, who she seems to trust," Will agreed.

"Yeah, though she seemed to trust the Oresoren a little," Senel remembered.

"Well, they did save her life; if all of her talk of keeping to herself because it would endanger anyone that found out that information is true, then the fact that they did not act hostile is a reason for trust," Will thought logically.

"Say, Jay, you could give some input too, you know. Some reasons behind why you trust her would be helpful, too," Senel said, turning around to Jay, who had been sitting quietly. He seemed to not comprehend Senel's words for a moment, before finally answering the question.

"I trusted her because she obviously means no harm," he said quickly.

"You mean because the information about her is information that you don't know, which is something you can't stand, right?" Senel said dryly.

"Well, I guess that would be a factor, too," Jay admitted, "that and the nagging feeling that I should know her."

"Which is information that you don't know, in other words. If you do know it, maybe it will come to you if you sleep on it," Senel advised through a yawn, "I'm going to sleep, good night."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Early the next morning, Jay's eyes opened slowly from sleep. A second later, he was standing as though he had been relaxing wide awake, and not sleeping. The presence of one person was missing from inside the house. Searching the rooms, he saw that the girl was gone; this hardly surprised him. Thinking that she did not seem like the type that would have just left like that, he concentrated harder on the presences in the house. It took him a moment, but he realized that she was not _in_ the house, but rather _on_ the roof of the house. Deciding that he may as well say good morning, as it was early enough that there was nothing else to do, he climbed out of the window of the guest room and nimbly jumped to the top.

As Jay's eyes passed the roof, he saw the girl hastily sitting down, hiding something in her pocket. Immediately a little suspicious, he crossed the roof to her, and sat next to her.

"What was that you had out?" he asked casually. As her nature towards it had shown him, she predictably tensed.

"I was training," the girl told him.

"Why did you stop, then?" he asked.

"I'm an incompetent fighter; there was no reason for you to see my inferior skill," the girl said, rushing slightly.

"Don't compare yourself with me, please; I had to undergo ruthless training to get the skills I have now," he admitted; the thoughts of his past brought a chill to his spine, and he involuntarily shuddered.

"I'm sorry. I didn't mean to upset you," the girl said quickly, seeing Jay's shudder.

"It's all right, I brought that up," he said reassuringly, "Anyway, would you please show me your skills with the dagger?"

Nodding reluctantly, the girl stood up, drawing her dagger again.

"I will not attack to harm, nor to kill, but to test your reflexes and skills," Jay told her, his voice growing ever so slightly more mechanic than usual. He drew his Chizakura blade, while she readied her blade; it was a strange blade, but one that Jay had seen before. It had a green handle, with a hilt that curled in on itself. The blade was shaped like a flower bud, and colored a bright red, punctuated by a small triangle of the green hilt. This was the Hanabi blade, a blade that usually held poison. However, it was clear that any poison in the blade's intricate vascular system had long since run out; there were no pronounced veins leading from the dagger's hilt to its tip.

"As will I," the girl's voice came, completely mechanic.

Jay rushed forward, stabbing the blade forwards towards the girl's side. She dodged, bringing her dagger up to meet his, and forcing his arm straight in the air. He quickly threw his blade to his left hand, which was stopped by her left arm. Her blade was now also in the left hand, and a few clashes of metal sounded. The blades pressed against each other, and it was turned into a contest of strength. Jay's left arm was stronger than the girls', and she soon had to support her blade with both hands. Just as Jay took this opening to land a kick, the girl leapt back with amazing speed, and did a front flip over Jay's head. His back now completely open, her knife sped forward until it was half a centimeter from his neck.

Jay laughed. "You said I was the better, but here you are defeating me in an instant."

"I was lucky," she said humbly, lowering her knife.

Both sat down again, turned towards the east to watch the sunrise.

"Those skills were impressive," Jay complimented.

"As were yours. You did not have to use much power," she said.

"Yes, but you were faster than I was; that is something I was not expecting."

"You held back. At full speed you may have defeated me." The girl stopped speaking, drawing her blade yet again; it was now pointed towards the window that Jay had come up through.

"Jay? You up here? The girl left," Moses called.

"We're both right here, stupid bandit," Jay said in exasperation.

"Whatcha' doin' up there?" Moses asked; a note of mischief laced his voice.

"What we're doing at this very moment: talking," Jay said.

"I heard blades crossing," Moses protested.

"It was a practice battle," Jay called. A clumsy red blur vaulted over the roof.

"You left me out of a practice battle?" he asked dangerously; this was aimed at Jay, as even Moses figured that the girl, having only traveled with them for a day, would not know his affinity for fighting.

"There was no point in adding you," Jay smirked.

"So who won?" Moses asked; the smirk disappeared from Jay's face.

"That is impertinent," the girl said.

"Jay, you lost, didn't you?" Moses grinned, "Oh wow, you lost to a girl! Man, you realize you'll never be allowed to forget this!"

"I at least was a pretty even match for her, if I do say so myself. That would be especially compared to you, Moses."

Moses' face contorted with rage. "So you're sayin' I wouldn't be able to fight this little lady? In that case, I challenge her to a duel here and now!" he whirled to point at the girl.

"Pointless fighting, but I'll do it anyway; it seems I desperately need the practice," the girl accepted.

Moses charged the girl, his spear poised for the kill. He hadn't expected the girl to dodge, however, so when she did jump out of the way, he charged right on ahead and off of the roof.

"Aaah!" he yelled as he began falling. It took him a moment to realize that he had soon stopped falling.

"That was foolish," the girl said, struggling to pull her defeated opponent up.


	4. Departure

Later that morning, the group walked out of Werites Beacon. They went straight towards the duct, where they would go to the far shore of Raging Bay, where the sole entrance to the Bridge Plain was. The girl, who walked silently among them once again, had only been traveling with them for a mere day, but already they felt as though she was meant to be one of the group.

At long last, the party could see the Crags looming in the distance. That was their landmark, which indicated that they need to turn east in order to go through the Bridge Plain. They stopped at this crucial turning point to rest before heading towards the Bridge. As Jay finished cooking the afternoon meal, stew, the girl, to their surprise, stood.

"I am sorry, but here is where we must part," she announced. Everyone looked at her, shocked.

"But why now? We're almost to the Bridge," Senel protested.

"Even if you started now, you wouldn't get too much farther ahead of us," Will reasoned, supporting Senel's protest.

"Perhaps, but I must reach there as quickly as possible," she sighed.

"And why's that?" Norma and Moses asked, a hint of suspicion in their voices.

"There is someone I must meet, and I cannot be late," she answered.

At this, Norma and Moses quickly huddled together.

"Poor JJ, she already has someone!" Norma whispered to Moses.

"And here we thought our little man finally found some lovin'," Moses sighed back.

This was obviously going to be the beginning of a long romantic discussion centered on the relationship of Jay and the girl.

"Would you two stop babbling? You have the entirely wrong idea," Jay interrupted; his annoyance was clear in his expression.

"I have no time for romance," the girl added. "My meeting is strictly along the lines of business."

"I'm sure that it is," Norma muttered skeptically.

"Your beliefs are your own," she said, shrugging off any annoyance at the suspicion she was now under.

"You won't mind that they'll be gossiping about the supposed relationships you could be involved in?" Chloe asked, amazed.

"It is of no importance to me. Even if it was, I must depart; there is no point in attempting to sway their ideas."

"That's an impressive resolve," Chloe said in awe. "I could never put up with them like that."

"Nor could I," Jay agreed. "Then again, unlike us, she is leaving; she won't have to put up with them for more than the few minutes it takes to say farewell."

"Indeed," the girl said. "In fact, I must leave at once."

The group grew silent, waiting for whatever farewell speech she had to give.

"Senel-san, Will-san, Chloe-san, Shirley-san, Norma-san, Grune-san, Moses-san, Jay-san," she said respectfully, nodding at each of them in turn, "it was a pleasure to meet you all. However, all things must come to an end; it is now that I must end my travels alongside you."

Caught off guard by her unusually short count of words, the girl's trench coat had nearly cleared the boundaries of their camp when her progress was halted.

"Um, please, at least stay for a bowl of Jay's stew; it's really good, and you wouldn't want to miss out," Shirley protested.

"Yes, if you plan to make it even near the Bridge, you'll need your strength," Will agreed.

"Ain't nothin' like home cookin'!" Moses grinned.

Jay said nothing, but held out a bowl full of stew, which the girl gave in and took. She looked at it as though it was a mirror into a distant memory, said "thank you", and quickly polished off all stew within the bowl.

"I shall be off now," she said; this time, no one could think of a reason or way to stop her as she turned and left.

As Jay turned from watching her bow and depart to wash the stew bowls, his eyes widened when he saw the girl's nearly empty bowl.

"Oh, she didn't eat her mushrooms," Grune pointed out airily over his shoulder.

"Hey, Jay, quit starin' at the mushrooms! Or is yer not-so-smart brain confused by them?" Moses teased. When Jay merely muttered "Shut up" as his comeback, everyone looked at him, alarmed.

"Jay?" Chloe asked.

"Something wrong?" Senel asked.

"Mushrooms…" Jay whispered.

"Yeah, we know they're mushrooms, what about them is what we wanna know, JJ!" Norma exclaimed.

"Mushrooms are nice," Grune said impertinently.

"Jay, you can tell us what's up, we're family!" Moses grinned; to everyone's surprise, Jay heeded the bandit's words.

"It's just…an old memory came back…"

"A good one or a bad one?" Shirley questioned.

"What was it about?" Will added.

"One of the better ones," Jay said, answering Shirley's question.

"Of what?" Norma asked, now extremely curious.

"Family," Jay answered, slightly distractedly.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As soon as she had disappeared from the view of those who had shown her great kindness, the girl broke off into a run towards the Bridge, moving too quickly to alert even the most sensitive of any nearby monsters. Waiting for her was a man with long, faded mouse-brown hair, tied back in an ornate fashion and long, thin eyes.

"You're late," he barked as she knelt before him.

"Forgive me, Master," the girl said mechanically; any trace of emotion she felt at that moment was not shown in any way.

"Come, we have allied with Vaclav," the man said, gesturing for the girl to rise.

"Had he not died recently?" the girl asked, any surprise at the words of her master not present.

"He survived, and now we are prepared to put a new plan into action," the man said, "You are to be on standby for the moment."

"Yes, Master," the girl said.


	5. Betrayal?: Dawn

The party had finally crossed the Bridge Plain, and now stood in front of the Bridge. To their surprise, the girl that had left them was nowhere to be seen, nor was anyone else. Either she had gotten lost, or she really had been able to travel that much farther ahead of them. In any case, they now had to worry about their own mission, which was to find out why there was reported activity—and by Vaclav, no less—around the Bridge. The main concern on everyone's minds, of course, was Shirley. If somehow the impossible were true and this was Vaclav they were dealing with, or, more possibly, someone with the same intentions as Vaclav, Shirley could be in real danger. She wasn't showing it, but it was obvious that Shirley knew this all too well, and was frightened by it.

"Shirley, you don't have to," Senel started.

"No, I want to; besides, everyone is here with me," Shirley interrupted. As if it were a cue, Chloe and Norma stepped closer to Shirley.

"That's right, we've gotta look out for each other!" Norma grinned.

"We won't let anything happen to you," Chloe reassured her friend.

As they walked inside of the bridge, a masked man watched them from above. "I wouldn't be so sure of that," Cashel muttered, then went off to the top level of the Bridge to report.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Cashel arrived, a whole array of people was waiting for him at the top of the Bridge. Of course, there was his commander Vaclav, who was in between Melanie and Stingle. To the left of them was the old man Vaclav had made a deal with. He had long, light brown hair, tied back but still easily draped over his shoulder. Next to him was a face he had not seen before: a shorter girl, who was, for some reason, wearing a trench coat, which clashed with her blonde hair.

"Ah, Cashel, what is your report?" Vaclav asked, after Cashel gave him the proper salute.

"The target has entered the Bridge, commander," Cashel told him.

"Already? Ah well, they'll be in for a nasty surprise, they think we're all dead," Vaclav sneered, "Well, except for you, Stingle, and of course our new allies," he gestured to the old man and the girl.

"I know you are Solon," Cashel bowed politely, "and you are…?"

"His apprentice," the girl said mechanically.

"She doesn't like to give her name," Solon explained to Cashel, who was showing a hint of annoyance that his question had not been answered the way he had wished it to be.

"Well, isn't that trustworthy," Cashel muttered.

"That is not the issue at hand," Vaclav snapped.

"Forgive me, commander," Cashel said hastily, "I was out of line."

"Forgiven. Now, let us see how to intercept them…"

Solon went over to a console and punched a few buttons. A map of the bridge came up, complete with a moving blip representing the target. According to the blip, they were hardly a third through the first long, winding level.

"I'll head them off there," Melanie offered.

"Are you sure? Remember what happened last time," Cashel reminded her.

"You were about ready to burst because you haven't gotten the chance to claim the second level, and you remember what happened there," Melanie snarled.

"If I may interrupt?" Solon interrupted, gaining the attention of those who had been diverting their concentration from him.

"I have the plan all set out," he explained, then began to explain it with diagrams and words.

"Melanie, you will indeed be waiting for them on the first floor. However, it is not to fight them, but to make sure they continue on. The Bridge looks as though it has been disused since our so-called demises, so they are likely to turn back on that first level. You will kill two birds with one stone. Make sure that they don't leave, and capture the Merines."

Melanie looked to her commander for his assent. When he gave it, she saluted. "Aye, I will do that," she stated, then left to reach the first level of the bridge.

"As the second level of the Bridge has excellent terrain for your style, Cashel, you have full control of it. The door to the third level will be blocked, so of course the Card Key will be with you. However, as this may be the most crucial level to protect, as it leads straight into the heart of the Bridge, I shall send my apprentice with you."

"This kid? What can she do?" Cashel asked skeptically, but changed his tune after a moment's thought, "Argh! I said the same thing to that punk last time, and he brought my downfall!"

"What punk?" Solon asked, seeming mildly curious, though his cold, narrow eyes would not have revealed that.

"Can you get a visual of the intruders? He was a short kid with a mean dagger…"

"That sounds familiar…I wonder if it could be…" he trailed off as he started bringing the visual up.

"Jay," the girl finished; though she spoke not as an addition to the question, but as a statement for the answer.

"Ah, so that's why you were late," Solon said knowingly.

"Not exactly," the girl said.

"Not exactly? That's not a clearly defined response; I can't tell if you mean you were late because of him or if you weren't. I shall nevertheless give you a special mission. If you must fight the intruders, and Jay is among them, he shall be your one and only target. You are to kill him."

"Kill?" the girl asked, seeming a little surprised.

"You may do it the quick way; if you cannot, Cashel or, if it must come to it, I will kill him. Your killing may be the most merciful of the three."

"I see," the girl said, her voice getting quieter.

"So be merciful and kill Jay, _u__nderstood_?" Solon gave the girl a cold and dangerous stare to the extent that Satan himself would have quailed in fear.

"Understood," she acknowledged.

"Cashel, take my apprentice and go to the second level, make sure that if they do manage to walk away, it's walking away barely alive."

Vaclav gave his consent to Cashel, who saluted. "Let's go; don't fall behind," he said to the girl, and they both went off to the second level of the Bridge.


	6. Betrayal?: Encounter

The eight went forward through the first level of the Bridge. They remembered the layout well, having been there a relatively short while ago to go against Vaclav. All were nervous, contemplating the thought that they may have to relive that fight. The thought seemed to relax as they traveled through the first corridors, and into the room with the secret switches. All switches were as they found them, so they merely had to proceed through the door. However, it seemed that different plans had already been set for them.

The party was a few feet from the door leading to the penultimate area of the Bridge's first level when they heard a yelp from behind them. The yelp was all-too-familiar, and as they whirled around, their fears were confirmed. A triumphant Melanie had an unconscious Shirley draped over her shoulder.

"Shirley!" Senel yelled, charging the Crimson of the Terrors.

"Damn you!" Moses, too, yelled, following Senel's charge.

"Vaclav really is back," Jay noted palely.

"My, my, always one for the facts," Melanie smirked, "Yes, the Commander is back, and so are the Terrors. You have much to fear."

"But…that's impossible…" Will stammered.

"It should be quite obvious that it's not. Now if you'll excuse me, I must deliver this girl to the Commander." Melanie blinded the party with a powerful fire technique, which created a lot of smoke as an after effect. By the time that any of them were able to see again, Shirley and Melanie were long gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Melanie took the elevator to the second level of the Bridge, where the two ninja who were assigned to that level were waiting.

"I've captured the Merines," Melanie crowed triumphantly.

"Yes, I see that," Cashel huffed, "I suppose you'll want me to participate in your little relay race, and bring her to Stingle?"

"Or directly to the Commander, either is fine with me," Melanie said indifferently.

"Fine, I'll do it," Cashel grumbled, and went to the main entrance to the Bridge's third level, where he opened the door with his Card Key. Melanie, on the other hand, went back to her post, which was in front of the elevator to the second level. This left Solon's apprentice alone, with no activity to occupy her but to wait and think.

"I was with the Merines, all this time? I wish I had known…now I must deal with an unforeseen betrayal of trust, in exchange for their kindness. Although now, it doesn't matter. Close relations like this only weaken me. I must stop thinking of them as anything more than acquaintances," she thought.

Only fifteen minutes after Cashel delivered the captured Merines to him, Stingle walked into the control room of the Bridge, Shirley still unconscious on his shoulder.

"They made it to the third level already?" Vaclav asked in surprise.

"No, sir, Melanie captured the Merines. She delivered her to Cashel, who delivered it to me. I am delivering her to you."

"I see, good work, all of you," Vaclav smirked.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Cashel and Solon's apprentice stood quietly in front of the elevator, waiting for someone to ascend, be it Melanie or the enemy.

"Hey, kid," Cashel said.

"…Yes?" the girl asked him.

"Let's have a little race while we wait; what do you say?" Cashel asked her.

"We should wait as we were told—" the girl started.

"The enemy party shouldn't be near the elevator yet, so it shouldn't be a problem," Cashel reassured her, "Besides, I have the Card Key, which they need to proceed. So let's see what you can do."

"…Very well," the girl complied.

Cashel chose the starting line, which was at the point where the small crack between the huge doors to the third level of the Bridge was, and the race began. Cashel thought he was doing phenomenally well at first, but as he went halfway around the second level, he saw his opponent catching up. It was only a few seconds past that when he saw her pull ahead of him, easily winning their little race. This result was less than satisfactory to him, so he decided to test her in other ways as well.

"All right, let's see if you can see which one of these is real!" Cashel smirked, creating several replications of himself, "Only one person has ever seen through this, and they are soon to die!"

The girl looked around for a moment before disappearing. She reappeared next to a Cashel, and looked at it. "Hello," she said.

"Damn!" Cashel growled, letting his replications disappear.

"Is something the matter?" she asked, showing no sign of whether she was being sarcastic, smug, or if she really was not aware of the problem.

"No, it's nothing, nothing at all," Cashel said, "Let's resume our posts, then, shall we?"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"No…how could I let the Commander down…not again!" Melanie cried, writhing on the floor in pain.

"How could I let Shirley be kidnapped again?!" Senel yelled at her, punching her square in the stomach.

"Whoa, Senny, don't be so harsh!" Norma squeaked, flinching from his anger.

"Calm down. Staying hear to further injure an already beaten enemy will only give Vaclav more time to carry out his evil plans for Shirley," Will told him, reasoning.

"Yes, we must hurry," Jay agreed.

Ascending the elevator to the second level, the now expected Cashel stood awaiting their arrival, but next to him was a surprise: the girl they had met in the Oresoren village.

"You!" Senel yelled, his surprise quickly turning to an additional supply of rage.

"You were an enemy the whole time?!" Will exclaimed.

"Keepin' tabs on us like that? Yer pretty smart, that's a Jay-level plan!" Moses said, grinning; he was ready to fight now, his defeat on the rooftop of the inn giving him extra fuel for revenge.

The girl was silent for a moment.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourself?" Will asked dangerously.

"You're jumping to conclusions," she started.

"Like hell we are!" Senel yelled.

"Wait. Let's see what she has to say first; it would be better to see how things stand before attacking," Jay interrupted, putting Senel's rampage off for a moment.

"The fact that we are on opposing sides as of this moment is true, but it was a fact that, until now, I had no knowledge of. I came here for my mission orders, and, regrettably, the orders I have been given contradict with the schedules of those who were so very kind to me," she explained.

"Okay, I didn't get a word of that," Moses said, confused.

Jay sighed. "You stupid bandit, must I explain everything to you? She said that the reason she came to the Bridge was to receive her orders, which happened to be to fight on Vaclav's side. She did not know that we were the ones she was to fight until now. Is that not correct?" he turned to the girl, who nodded solemnly.

The group huddled for an on-the-spot conference.

"She seems sincere, but can we really believe her?" Chloe asked doubtfully.

"It doesn't matter; she's on Vaclav's side, no matter how you look at it!" Senel exploded.

"Man…I really don't wanna fight her," Norma whined.

"Speak for yourself! I need to even the score, she already beat me once!" Moses said, patting his quiver full of spears.

"You pretty much beat yourself; you ran off of the roof on your own accord," Jay corrected dryly.

"Shut up, Jay," Moses grumbled.

"Would you hurry it up already?!" Cashel called to them, "Or are you going to back down because you know that this time I will defeat you?"

The group looked up, startled by his interruption. He was standing, ready for battle, looking quite annoyed at having to wait.

"You'll be fighting me alone, since I have to make up for my loss last time we met," Cashel said acidly.

"But what about—hey! Where'd she go?" Norma asked, noticing that the girl they had been discussing had disappeared.

"I sent her off to the fourth level of the Bridge, as the last guard before the control room. You shouldn't worry about her, though, because you're all going to die right here! Isn't it grand? I get my revenge on you pitiful wretches, and that ever mysterious comrade of mine," he gestured upwards, to indicate the mysterious girl, "doesn't have to carry out her special orders, which she seemed ever so slightly reluctant to carry out."

"Special orders?" Jay asked, his curiosity piqued.

"Ah, I think you may be better off not knowing," Cashel told him, his eyes showing that he was grinning maliciously under his mask. He drew out his tonfa blades, and assumed his fighting stance. "Now, shall we begin?"


	7. Betrayal?: Compassion

Solon walked out from the control room, upon sensing a presence outside the door. He found his apprentice standing there, stoically looking straight ahead.

"What are you doing here?" he demanded.

"Cashel ordered me to be here, so here I am," she told him.

"I see. While that is a good safety precaution, I have a new order for you," Solon told her.

"What is it?"

"Come with me into the control room. The Merines is being quite emotional. Since she has met you previously, perhaps you could calm her down."

"I will try, Master."

Entering the control room, the girl immediately noticed Shirley's location: sobbing on the floor in front of the two egg-shaped devices. Vaclav was glaring down at her, holding his hand in a disgusted manner. The redness on Shirley's cheek confirmed that he had just slapped her hard. The girl showed the slightest sign of wincing, but did nothing; she just stood there quietly, awaiting instructions. Vaclav seemed oblivious to the arrival of Solon and his apprentice, but Shirley saw them, her eyes widening when she saw the latter. In order to make his presence known, Solon coughed quietly.

"Ah, it's you. Oh, and she's here, too?" Vaclav said, turning around.

"Yes, apparently Cashel decided to handle the intruders on his own," Solon told him, "Also, I believe it may be a good idea to let these girls talk to each other."

"And why would that be?" Vaclav queried.

"Because girls seem to have an understanding of each other that we men can never quite achieve," Solon replied simply.

Once all was said and done, Vaclav and Solon left the two girls in a desolate corner of the control room.

"Why are you here?" Shirley asked between a sob.

"I am sorry," the girl said quietly.

"You're sorry for what?"

"I did not know that opposing you and your friends was to be my next mission," the girl continued quietly.

Shirley gasped. Did that mean that this girl had been a spy the whole time? As logical as it seemed, for some reason it didn't seem right in this situation. The girl was apologetic, not triumphant, and seemed genuinely upset that she was now supposed to be an enemy. Besides, she said she didn't know that she was going to be an enemy, right?

"If that is the truth, I forgive you," Shirley said, biting her lip in order to get the sentence out without wailing.

"Thank you…"

There was an awkward silence of words, which was instead filled with Shirley's sobs. The ice had yet to be completely broken between them.

"Why are you crying?" the girl asked finally.

Shirley sniffled for a moment, trying desperately to control herself to at least get a simple answer out. Unlike with Vaclav, the girl waited until she was calm enough to continue.

"You see…" Shirley began, and explained her previous experience with Vaclav a short while ago. She sobbed her way through that, and then, feeling as though a weight was beginning to come off of her shoulders, she began to explain what had happened after Vaclav: the tragic story of her only friend, what she almost did as the true awakened Merines, the conflict with Nerifes, the sea, and the two peaceful weeks been between then and now. She ranted and raved about every detail of her problems and, to her immense surprise, the girl listened intently. She never once showed any signs of losing concentration, not even for an instant.

Shirley sniffed slightly after her final sentence. "So, that's my story," she told her companion.

"I see...that is indeed unfortunate," the girl said.

"Thank you for your sympathy," Shirley sighed.

"Senel-san is your brother?"

"Hmm? Well, he's not my real brother, but we pretended to be siblings," Shirley blushed.

"I see. So you almost killed your elder brother…" the girl's voice trailed off for a moment before she resumed speaking, "That must have been hard."

"Yeah…but I'm glad that it worked out the way it did; it could have been a lot worse."

"C'mon, Stingle, take them out, get 'em! Swing to the left! No, now to the right! Be careful, she's right behind ya!" What resembled an enthusiastic fan's sports commentary interrupted the conversation of the two girls. They looked up to see one of the men at the control panel waving his fist at a large screen, on which was a battle being picked up by a surveillance camera. Stingle was fighting against the seven that were set to rescue Shirley, and he was doing an excellent job considering the circumstances. However, he was not doing enough of a good job in order to win, which was quite clear to the spectators in the control room. The very fact that Stingle was in combat proved that Cashel had already fallen, making it seem quite possible that this was history repeating itself.

While the cheering and jeering was still going on, Solon walked from the screen over to the two girls, and called his apprentice to yet another corner, leaving Shirley alone.

"It is time for you to carry out your mission; resume your position outside of the control room and prepare to fight," Solon told his apprentice.

Her stoic face, the epitome of a living statue, showed a flicker of change; her eyes widened to a degree unnoticeable to an untrained eye for a fraction of a second before returning to their original position.

"Yes, Master," she said.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"We're at the fourth floor! We're almost there!" Norma panted, trying desperately to keep up with the rest of the group. They were running at top speed towards where they knew Shirley had to be. Norma and Will made up the back of the pack, with Moses, Chloe, and Senel. Jay was staying even with Senel, though it was obvious that he could easily run much faster. Grune was way behind, happily jogging along, without a care in the world; something Grune would typically do.

The door of the control room was a pinprick in the distance when they stopped. Once again, the girl stood in their path; this time, however, she was alone, and her cold expression made it clear she was there to fight.

"Get out of my way!" Senel yelled, charging her; his wild punch was easily dodged, following with a kick to the stomach that landed him at Grune's feet, who was still a ways back.

"How could you?!" Chloe cried, preparing to charge next.

"Chloe, please calm down!" Norma squeaked, trying to calm her steaming companion.

"Okay, my turn, then! Yeehaw!" Moses shouted, making his voice echo around the room. Spear in hand, he charged, only to have a situation similar to his first 'battle' with his opponent: she tripped him, making him land upside down, as though standing on his head.

"…Is it me, or has the world turned around?" Moses asked.

Jay sighed in exasperation, actually raising his voice when he said "Stupid bandit, you're upside down!"

"Shall I attack now, then?" the girl said coldly. Her emotions were so blank that, if anyone who saw her hadn't already known she was human, they would have guessed her as some kind of robot.

"What, you're asking politely to attack, now?!" Senel yelled, "Like hell—"

Senel spoke too late, for she had not waited for their reply of consent or dissent. She disappeared, leaving them looking around in bewilderment.

"She ran away?!" Chloe exploded, enraged at such a dishonorable act.

"No," came a voice from above.

The attack only took a second. The Hanabi dagger was in her hand, ablaze. Around it were replicas of the flaming Hanabi, only there was no Hanabi blade, only flame.

"Rain of Fire!" the girl yelled, and the flaming daggers descended upon them. While none were the true Hanabi, they all cut as though they were an actual dagger.

"Don't move, anyone!" Jay yelled, "Don't move a muscle!"

Everyone froze. Jay had obviously realized something, and they knew they should trust him. However, Moses was itching to fight, and he raised his spear once again. A flaming dagger screamed past him, leaving a fiery trail behind it.

"Aaah! My pants are on fire!" Moses screamed, batting wildly at his flaming trousers. He tried to put it out by running around, making him seem like some sort of strange comet.

Despite the situation, Jay snorted. "I told you not to move," he said, trying to show his exasperation through the laughter that was trying to get out.

"Come and see Red's fire dance!" Norma announced, gesturing at Moses as though he were some kind of entertainment act, "Only 5000 gald!"

"That's too much!" Chloe said.

"That's not the point!" Will snapped, bringing everyone back to reality, "We're in the middle of the fight!"

"Right! We have to save Shirley," Senel rallied.

"Yeah!" Moses yelled, his original objective back in sight now that Will had doused his flaming pants.

"So you've decided to fight?" a robotic voice came, seeming to surround them.

"What was that?!" Norma squeaked.

"We're surrounded?!" Chloe exclaimed.

"Relax. It is merely an automated voice, speaking through a system so that it may be heard throughout the Bridge," the girl reassured them.

"Before you begin the fight, you will be given a test; there will be a series of ten shockwaves in ten seconds. If you get hit, you shall be at the mercy of the Bridge. Begin," the voice finished.

The ground rumbled, moving in such a way so that all could see the movement of the Bridge.

"Is this the shockwave the voice was talking about?!" Will exclaimed.

"What did it mean, 'hit'?!" Senel wondered.

"It meant you have to dodge those," the girl, who was standing quite calmly on the shaking terrain, said, pointing to a bright yellow line speeding towards them, "Those are the shockwaves."

"How do we dodge—aaah!!!" Moses yelled, not even finishing his question before the shockwave sent him high into the air and out of sight.

"Red!" Norma yelled, "You were supposed to jump!"

"Oh, my, this is fun!" Grune was heard saying; however, all that could be seen was a green speck somewhere near where Moses had been sent a moment before.

The shockwaves kept coming at unpredictable moments. All ten swept by, sweeping the contenders away with them, until, finally, the ground stopped shaking. The trial was over.

"What will happen to them?" Jay asked tentatively.

"Forgive me. I do not know. However, there is a very good chance that they are alive," the girl replied.

They looked around the room, and a silence came between them.

"I see it's just us," Jay sighed.

"So it would seem."

"A duel, then: dagger against dagger?"

"There is not another way. To the death, I'm afraid it must be."

"That's a little extreme."

"I…was ordered to kill you. Therefore, it is not extreme, in a sense."

Jay blinked. When Cashel had said that he wouldn't like knowing the order, he hadn't thought it would be something like _that_…

"Shall we begin?" he asked, interrupting his thoughts.

"Yes," the girl replied, bowing politely.

The two disappeared, reappearing in the exact midpoint between their original positions, daggers clashing. The duel between the two dagger wielders had begun.


	8. Betrayal?: Bloodshed

The sound of metal clashing rang throughout the fourth level of the Bridge. Attack after attack was met with defense after defense, over and over. Jay noted that each of her swings was much like his own; he couldn't help but wonder what the cause behind that was. He searched her technique with a trained eye, hoping to find the evidence—or lack thereof—that was needed to either support or refute his insane conclusion.

Although she countered each of Jay's attacks perfectly, the girl's thoughts were not entirely focused on the battle. She had a lot on her mind; the order to kill Jay, Shirley and Jay's other companions, and the will of Solon, which she could almost feel pushing her along.

"_It is time for you to carry out your mission; resume your position outside of the control room and prepare to fight," Solon told his apprentice._

"_Yes master," she said._

_Turning to leave, she stopped a few feet from him. She clenched her fists, knowing that she ran a high risk of getting hurt for asking, but this whole business was really bothering her._

"…_Yes?" Solon asked, fully aware that she wanted to ask him something._

"_Master…can I take this off?" she gestured to something in her hair._

"_No," he snapped sharply; the slightest of flinches moved the girl's body, "Unless Jay has figured it out?"_

"_It doesn't appear so; if he does know, he's doing an excellent job at hiding it," she admitted._

"_Then keep it on as a last resort; he is the only threat of that group, and your target, so use your advantages wisely."_

"_Yes, master."_

She narrowly dodged a dagger flying at her, bringing her back to the present battle; Jay's skill was not to be dealt with as casually as she had been doing. They had been going at it for almost fifteen minutes, which was an excruciatingly long time for an average battle. Both were clearly used to finishing the opponent off quickly, but neither showed any significant faltering of skill or speed because of it. The battle dragged on monotonously, full of nothing but swings and counters, swings and counters.

Finally, the monotony was broken, as Jay unleashed the Wraith Earth move upon his opponent. The earth exploded at her feet, nearly impaling her; somehow this did not happen. A small cut formed on her wrist, spilling but a few drops of blood.

"I missed?" Jay hissed inwardly.

"Nice shot; it's been a while since someone actually managed to hit me in battle," the girl called to him. 'Of course, the fact that my guard is inevitably going to be down helps that,' she thought. As a reward, she sent an eres attack of her own at her opponent; like the Wraith Earth, it burst forth from the ground, but it went a step further, exploding after a few moments. This attack, Earthen Scythe, would have wiped Jay out, had he not guarded; instead, he had a few cuts on his wrists and a bruised hand from the explosion.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Aaah!" Moses yelled, sitting straight up.

"Aaah!" Norma shrieked, jumping at the Moses scream sounding in her ear.

"Shut up!" Will scolded.

"Five more minutes…" Senel groaned, rolling over in his sleep.

"Wake up, Coolidge!" Chloe yelled, "We have to save Shirley! This is no time to be sleeping!"

The yelling of everyone woke Grune from her own nap, from which she said "Good morning, that was a nice nap."

"Uh…good…morning?" Norma replied awkwardly.

"…Where are we?" Senel asked, sitting up.

There was a long silence while they all waited for an answer.

"…Jay, I'd expect ya to say somethin' like 'It would appear we're…' and then say wherever we are," Moses scolded.

"…Jay isn't here," Norma realized, her voice getting slightly panicky.

"What happened to him?" Chloe wondered.

"Maybe he passed that test? Last I saw, he was doing pretty well," Senel recalled.

"I hope he's all right," Chloe sighed.

"I'm sure he's fine," Grune smiled.

"Grune, you may have a point. Besides, we should be more focused on where i we /i are; we seem to be in the Bridge, but we are probably on the lowest level," Will reasoned.

"Well then, up we go!" Norma grinned.

The group found a nearby door and went through it. Moses went through last; he looked up at the ceiling, and said, in an uncharacteristically quiet voice, "Jay, y'all better be okay, y'hear?!"

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The battle had dragged on for a full thirty minutes, and now the participants were beginning to show signs of fatigue. Now, only one thought rested in their minds: this battle had to end, and it had to end now. With this in mind, the final strikes of the battle were carried out.

The impact of the blow sent the pair flying; the one who had attacked successfully slamming the one who had to defend back first against the wall.

_Plip_.

Blood began dripping out of a severe side wound, streaming around the dagger that was the wound's cause.

_Plip_.

Looking to the only source of noise besides two beating hearts and the breathing, neither of them calm and steady, the girl saw a small pool of blood forming on the ground. Her heart skipped a beat.

A wet cough broke the silence, splattering blood over everything as an internal injury made itself known. The battle was over; a fatal injury had been administered. Her hands shaking slightly, the girl let go of her dagger, which stayed embedded in Jay's side. Covered in blood that was not her own, she took three shaky steps back, stunned that she had actually done it. She had followed Solon's orders, giving Jay a wound not easily survivable.

Seeing Jay's eyes blank and unfocused, she turned to leave and report that she had succeeded. However, she had not taken more than a step away from the scene when Jay proved his consciousness by not only coughing, but managing to speak after that.

"You're hair is a nice black," he commented.

The girl whirled, looking at him with a face tinged with mild curiosity.

"My hair is blonde," she said. "It seems I hit you quite deeply, for you to hallucinate already."

"Am I hallucinating?" Jay said, a smug tone in his voice. "Then I'm imagining that there is a blond wig at your feet?"

There was no answer as the girl looked down, almost in shame, at the blonde wig that was at her feet.

"That's what I thought."

"A wig is a generic disguise," the girl shrugged, though a presence of discomfort was starting to appear in her manner.

Jay gave a momentary smirk, though was interrupted by a cough, producing more blood. The girl merely waited for him to get in control of this outburst, saying nothing as his comment was delayed.

"Try as you might, you've lost; you can't fool me."

"What, you mean with the hair?"

"You know what I mean. I had my suspicions from the very beginning."

"…What?" the girl asked.

"You, a cold-blooded assassin, warmed up to me the second you saw me. You fight with a dagger, using a style quite similar to mine. You leave the mushrooms out of the stew. And now, you show your real hair color. There's only one conclusion to be drawn from all of this information."

"You can draw a reasonable conclusion from that?"

"Why, yes I can; in fact, I can state my conclusion in one word."

"Only one? That's impressive," the girl commented.

"It's not a common word, either; in fact, it's a name."

The blue orbs of the girl's eyes shied away from Jay's, for the first time breaking their stoic contact.

"Your reaction tells me you know which name I have in mind?"

"I'm not a mind reader," the girl said, sniffing as though annoyed by his query, "stop toying with me." At this, Jay managed to smirk without interruption from his wound; the barrier on her emotions had cracked.

"Since you say you don't know, would you like me to tell you?"

"No, thank you," the girl said coldly, though her tone betrayed another message: "please don't".

"All right, I won't. Instead, tell me your own name."

"That's…that's unfair!" the girl said, "Stop toying with my head!"

"Why are you shaken? You act as though you never expected me to notice who you were," Jay said.

"You're supposed to be dead!" the girl said loudly, grabbing the sides of her head with her hands as though to stop it from shaking. Her body was quivering like a leaf in a gale, stuck deciding between the actions of heading towards Jay or away from him.

"Calm down," Jay said sharply. He indicated a space of wall to his right, closest to his wound. "Sit down."

Obediently, the girl, slightly unsteadily, walked to the indicated spot, now seeming to wrestle with the weight of the trench coat she wore, which she had so easily donned before.

"Don't be so formal," Jay said, again indicating for her to sit.

The trench coat was shrugged off, left to hang off of her shoulders, as the girl, pale-faced, sank to the ground; a bright cerulean fabric peeked through the revealed area. She said nothing to him, seeming to prefer staring blankly at the floor.

Jay coughed again, a trickle of blood slipping between the fingers of his hand as he blocked his mouth. Next to him, the girl's eyes gazed at him with a pitiful attempt at her previous cold looks: her emotions, long encoded in an expressionless manner, were ostentatiously decoding themselves in her eyes, and trying to write themselves on her face.

"What shall we talk about?" Jay asked, a small hint of humor in his voice.

"I-I don't know," the girl said. "I'm not very good at talking."

"Nonsense," Jay snorted. "I know of many topics that would suit you."

"Is that so?" the girl asked, tensing ever so slightly as she realized she'd set herself up for some sort of trap.

"Yes, it is. For instance, we can remind each other of our names."

The girl gasped. "Tricking me into the same trap twice; that was mean," she muttered.

"I've done worse. I'm Jay, by the way." Jay said, letting a smirk slip. "And your name is?"

As if to answer, the girl opened her mouth; however, sensing her hesitation, Jay took the opportunity to answer for her.

"Allow me to guess," Jay requested.

"F-fine," the girl said, looking away from him.

"I know of a girl's name; it's a pretty name, a name that I grew up with. I'm certain that you, too, know this name."

"How can you be so sure?"

"It's your name."

There was a moment of silence; biting her lip, the girl managed to keep her eyes, which were beginning to show signs of moisture, from flooding.

"How can you be sure? Which name are you referring to?" she asked finally.

"Corinne."


	9. Betrayal?: Failure

"Corinne."

It was one word, but as it slid from Jay's lips, the girl reacted as though it were a thousand bullets through her chest. Her eyes stared at him in complete disbelief; her right hand clenched, unclenched, and clenched again. A drop of red welled up on her bottom lip, from the white tooth trying to stop it from trembling.

"I see that I was right," Jay said.

Something was intended as a verbal response; instead, a futile succession of repeating the motions of opening and closing her mouth answered him. Her voice was naught more than a few pathetic squeaks.

"Why are you this surprised?" Jay asked, lifting an eyebrow. "You can't possibly be telling me that you thought I'd never figure it out."

Two blank blue eyes stared at him, still trying to figure out what was happening, while the rest of her head nodded.

"I would have held back more if I'd known," she added verbally; her eyes slid in shame to her red-bladed dagger, still protruding from Jay's side.

Heaving a sigh that lead to yet another wound-induced cough, Jay spoke with an unusually kind note in his voice. "It was a necessary evil; I can tell that although you've changed in many ways, gaining a certain bloodlust is not included in those changes."

"Necessary?" Corinne's eyes widened in surprise, her face showing horrified comprehension. "Don't tell me you intentionally let me hit you?"

"Had the battle dragged on much longer. However, you caught me off guard; I would have let you hit me, but in a less harmful manner."

"I'm sorry," the girl said quietly. Quickly, she turned away from Jay, conveniently at the same moment that he gave in to another cough. When he recovered, her eyes were almost undetectably glassy, and a clear, shining line trailed down her cheek.

"Apology accepted," Jay said.

Simultaneously, the pair's blue eyes snapped towards the door to the Bridge's control room. Both had sensed a disturbing variation on the presence of Solon: he was growing impatient, and, consequently, dangerously annoyed.

"Corinne, go," Jay said urgently.

"Will you be all right?" she asked, her voice becoming even and monotonous. The drab trench coat returned to its duty, hiding away the clothes underneath. All outward sense of emotion receded from her; within the time it took to ask the simple question, she had returned to the stoic girl she had been at the Oresoren Village.

"I'll be as fine as I can manage," Jay said. "I doubt you can promise the same if you linger too long."

"I'll be able to deal with the consequences of these extra few seconds," she told him, her voice not reassuring, but businesslike.

"Those extra few seconds are up," Jay said, his voice speeding up slightly, his eyes narrowing to avoid panic.

"Don't worry, I'm going," Corinne said. "Take care of yourself." With a speed slightly abnormal for a calm person, she turned her back and quickly covered the distance to the control room.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The group was on the third level of the Bridge, when Giet stopped and let out a chilling howl.

"Geez, Spot, do you have to be so loud?" Norma complained.

Moses, on the other hand, turned an ashen white.

"Moses, what's wrong?" Will asked, seeing this change in color.

"Are you feeling sick?" Chloe queried.

"Giet says…he smells…blood…" Moses breathed; a second later, he and Giet were speeding off ahead of the group, towards the fourth level of the Bridge.

"Uh oh," Norma gasped.

"If Moses is that concerned about this, then there's only one explanation," Will said darkly.

"One thing, one thing," Grune sang.

"What's that one thing?" Senel asked, dreading the answer.

"Something happened to Jay," Will finished.

"What?!" Senel yelled; a second later, he and the others were running in the long-gone wake of Moses, off to find Jay.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I've returned, Master" Corinne said, her voice reverted to its robotic form.

"You failed to kill him," Solon barked.

"I gave him a fatal wound—"

"—On top of that, you lose yourself in your past, letting your guard down near the enemy! You even _cried_, by the look of your cheek!"

Corinne flinched. "It was barely a tear, Master," she said quietly.

"Pathetic," Solon snarled, advancing towards his apprentice.

"I'm glad he doesn't have to see this…" Corinne thought for a brief moment, before a hard kick to the stomach sent her tumbling onto the floor, where she remained, knowing that getting up would only make things worse.

Closing her eyes in silent defeat, she desperately tried to think of something to take her mind off the current and coming pain. Jay's reappearance in her life had indeed been triggering many changes; thinking of something to distract her proved worthless, as ancient memories flooded her mind.

_In a small mountain cottage, Jay stumbled into a small room, empty but for two beds. On one sat Corinne, who sat up upon hearing him enter. He was badly bruised, as he was every day, but today, he seemed depressed more so than usual._

"_What's wrong?" Corinne asked, putting her small hand out to help him get onto his bed._

"_Master…took away my bell," Jay sniffled._

"_Eh? But that's the only thing—" Corinne gasped._

"_I know…he was angry that I still had it, though," Jay sighed._

"_Maybe you can ask him to let you have it back?" Corrine suggested._

_Jay smiled weakly. "I doubt that would help; he was pretty angry." He knew that she was still a young child; a year too young for Solon's training. Because of this, she was rather oblivious to the brutal nature of her soon-to-be master_.

Corinne briefly wondered what her Master had done with the bell; a hard punch in the stomach ended this thought process, incurring another memory.

"_Jay, I have one more request before you go to sleep," Solon said to his apprentice, impeding his progress to the small bedroom._

"_What is it, Master?" Jay asked; he was beginning to learn how to conceal his weariness._

"_She is already sleeping, but please wake Corinne up and inform her that her training begins tomorrow. You will have the morning off tomorrow."_

"_Y-yes, Master," Jay stuttered, surprised at this sudden announcement. Although he was a mere three feet from the door, as soon as Solon was out of sight, he raced through said door quite noisily._

"_Nnn…" Corinne grumbled, sitting up and rubbing her eyes, "What's wrong?"_

"_You're going to start training tomorrow," Jay rushed._

_Even through the darkness, Corinne's face visibly lit up. "Really?!" she exclaimed._

"_Yes. But before you get too excited, I want to make sure you'll be okay. You do realize you'll get hurt," Jay started, "and be respectful; follow Master's instructions to the letter. If you ever want to cry, don't do it in front of him, whatever the cost. Be sure to protect your hands because of the blisters—"_

"_Don't worry about me, silly, I'll be fine!" Corinne grinned. As if that closed the subject, she turned around, pulled the blanket over her head, and all was quiet._

_Jay, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. He merely sat on his bed, arms around his knees, staring out at the moonlight. At that moment, he was wishing that the small girl sleeping peacefully in the adjacent bed was not about to wake up to the living hell that he had faced for so long. Because he was older, he had tried to shelter her from Solon, even going so far as to take the punches that she would have gotten for some action or other. Now that she was going to be with their master without him to be there, Jay found himself worrying over her like a mother over her kindergartener. _

_The sun was starting to peek through the window by the time Jay began falling asleep; however, he first got Corinne to wake up and helped her prepare for her first day of training: her happiest dream and his worst nightmare_.

Wincing at a flurry of kicks, the thought of how, back then, Jay had shielded her, to an extent that, to this day, she was not certain of; how, when she asked him why he kept on sticking his neck out for her, he muttered something about how, because he was older than her, it was his duty. At least, he had until the infamous day her life changed, known in her memories as "that day".

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Jay!" Moses yelled, seeing his companion against the wall.

"Would you keep it down, you stupid bandit? You're giving me a headache," Jay snapped weakly.

"This is no time to be playin' tough guy! You've got a dagger right in ya!" Moses carefully pulled it out, growling in anger. "She's gonna pay for this—"

"No, she won't," Jay interrupted sharply.

"Wha?" Moses blinked, stunned.

"That would be going against my word. I already said that I forgave her; do not make me a liar," Jay said, eyes narrowing slightly.

"Jay!" Senel yelled, the rest of his companions coming into view.

"What happened?" Will asked.

"No way! JJ lost!" Norma yelled, pointing to Jay's wound. She and Will knelt down, using their healing eres on it.

"This is pretty serious, Jay," Will announced, "You might need to stay at the hospital in Werites Beacon for this."

"That's fine," Jay sighed.

Raising her hand awkwardly, Chloe began asking a question. "Why is her dagger here? And…her hair?"

"She left it in me, which actually probably saved my life; if she had taken it out, the bleeding would have been much more serious. As for the hair, it's a wig."

The party gasped, and turned to assess this new information. However, Jay stopped them.

"You know, it would be wise to rescue Shirley about now," he said dryly.

Senel stiffened. "You're right! Dammit! Shirley!"

Most of the others followed, except for Moses, who opted to stay behind with Jay.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"_That Day" started like every other day had in the past few months. Corinne woke up alone, as Jay and Solon were on a mission aboard the Legacy. She had been left behind since, although she had progressed quickly, her training was not at the required level. This fact annoyed her greatly, causing her to train herself every day. She had finally learned how to kill an enemy monster without remorse; a giant leap from where she had been long ago. Her accuracy with a dagger was deadly, able to hit a target dead center, whether stationary or moving. She also trained herself to be a faster runner; Solon had her and Jay race once before they left, and she had lost by several feet._

_Speaking of Jay, he had been acting almost scary lately. He was developing eyes that were cold and hard, and there were some days that he barely spoke at all. He was becoming more and more the perfect assassin and less and less the Jay she had known all her life. She felt as though a time would soon come that he would stop acknowledging her altogether; this thought deeply upset her, since it would make her all the more alone._

_She had been searching through the cabinets to find food for dinner when the door opened, admitting her master for the first time in a while._

"_Welcome back, Master," Corinne said, the lack of one presence not even coherently registering in her mind._

"_Corinne," Solon said sharply; Corinne turned around quickly, as he rarely addressed her by name, only as "my little apprentice"._

"_What is it, Master?" Corinne asked; the lack of the presence began to register in her mind, and a horrible thought crossed the synapses._

"_I'm sorry to tell you this," Solon said, although it was pretty obvious that he wasn't, "but on the Legacy, there was an ambush…Jay is dead."_

_She knew that they were coming; that horrible thought had registered and justified itself a second before she was told. Nevertheless, she felt a great icy void suddenly consume her. All of the life in the world seemed to ebb away, leaving only a pointless shell. She could feel something tugging at her eyes, but she ignored it, trying to keep the torrents of moisture within the void. Somehow, she held out for the rest of the night, until she went into the small bedroom. _

_Barely making it through the doorway, she stumbled to the nearest bed, Jay's, letting her legs give way. All of the muscles in her body were suddenly drained of energy, especially the ones that had been keeping the tears back. Two trickling brooks evolved into bubbling streams, evolving into roaring rivers of salty water, coursing down her face. She cried herself to sleep that night, silently sobbing the impossible questions of "why" to the wall._

A particularly hard kick had blasted Corinne across the room, where she landed at Shirley's feet. She had been unconscious for a while now, reliving the nightmares and mumbling the same questions to the air.

"Why did you have to die?"

"Stop it!" Shirley shrieked, leaping forward to help the motionless girl in front of her.

"It's her due punishment; now get out of the way!" Solon snapped dangerously.

"Why did you leave me behind?"

Solon advanced towards his apprentice, drawing his sword. "If this doesn't teach her to obey me, nothing will," he snarled.

"I'm not strong enough on my own…"

Two of Vaclav's soldiers rushed forward, restraining Shirley, who was quite determined to help Corinne.

"Jay nii-san…"

An unbidden tear, her subconscious recognizing helplessness, coursed down her cheek. Her master's eyes lit up with cruel delight.

"…He's not here to protect you, now, is he?" Solon whispered maliciously, a grin that Satan himself would not be able to beat upon his face. Apparently, the fact that she showed her weakness greatly amused him; probably since he could punish her for it, causing even more suffering. He raised his sword above her, ready to strike.

"I'm sorry to interrupt you, Solon, as I, too, am enjoying this, but we have a more important matter at hand," Vaclav interrupted, gesturing to the screen, which showed six of the eight intruders rushing ever closer to the control room.

"Senel!" Shirley sighed in relief.

"Vaclav," Solon said, quickly walking over to him, "if we are indeed going to carry out the new plan, it may be wise to leave the Merines here."

Vaclav sighed. "Very well." Turning to his men, he ordered that Melanie and Cashel be retrieved from the lower levels of the Bridge; the men in charge of this went behind one of the control panels, revealing a secret elevator. The men restraining Shirley released her, descending the elevator with Vaclav. This left only Solon, Corinne, and Shirley in the room.

"It was a pleasure meeting you, Merines," Solon said politely, picking up his unconscious apprentice, "I do hope we shall see each other again."

He, too, descended the secret elevator, just as Senel and the others came rushing in.


	10. Hanabi Poison: Antidote

After the strange incident at the bridge, tensions were high among the party, abating little after the passage of two days. Chloe had left for the mainland for the anniversary of family deaths, coincidentally giving her a break from her high-strung companions. Norma, Will, and Shirley were at the Werites hospital every day, checking up on Jay, who had lost consciousness on the way back from the Bridge and had not woken up since. Senel and Moses were livid, planning vengeance in Will's living room; Grune helped them plan because it seemed fun.

"Dammit!" Senel yelled, crumpling a piece of paper up and throwing it upon a mountain of paper, "I just can't get a good plan!"

"Y'know, Senel," Moses said slowly, "Jay said somethin' to me about him forgivin' that girl; maybe that's keepin' us from makin' a revenge plan."

"That's so nice of him!" Grune smiled, popping up from the depths of the paper mountain, scattering the crumpled balls everywhere.

"He isn't that forgiving," Senel countered.

"I'm tellin' you, he told me to stop when I said she'd pay!" Moses insisted.

"Fighting again?" Will sighed, walking into the house.

"Did Jay wake up yet?" Senel and Moses asked unanimously, their discussion forgotten.

"No…" Norma said sadly.

"The doctor found something," Shirley added gravely.

"What do you mean by that?" Senel asked, feeling his face pale.

"His wound isn't closing up properly; apparently there's some type of poison in his blood preventing it from healing."

"That little—!" Moses snarled, leaping to his feet in anger.

"I'm going to go to the hospital," Senel said, "If the doctor needs any help with an antidote, I'll lend a hand."

"Let's all go and do that," Will agreed.

Walking out the door, the party had barely gone ten steps when a familiar figure walked by them towards the hospital.

"You!" Senel and Moses yelled, charging towards the girl they had marked as an enemy.

"Yes, me," Corinne said dryly, dodging her attackers with ease. She strode over to Will, taking a tiny glass vial full of a blue liquid out of her pocket; she held it out to him, and he awkwardly accepted.

"May I ask what it is?" he asked.

"It's the antidote," she said shortly.

"Antidote? For what?" Norma asked, speaking too soon for comprehension to prevent her. "Oh…"

"You're bringing the antidote to cure Jay, rather than let him die?" Will asked, more than mildly surprised.

"Why would you want to help him, though?" Norma wondered, "I mean, you nearly killed him, so wouldn't you want to finish the job?"

Choosing to ignore Norma's question, Corinne instead spoke to Will. "I do not expect your trust; analyze it if you feel it necessary."

"Just throw it away, Will!" Senel yelled, "It's poison, for sure!"

"Jay may be all trustin' an' forgivin', but we sure as hell ain't!" Moses agreed.

Will stood there, staring at the vial in his palm. "I think the analysis would be a good idea," he said slowly.

"Why bother?! It's poison!" Senel yelled again.

"Poison, poison," Grune said, her happy voice giving the word a strange ring.

"Despicable!" Norma huffed, making her friends look at her in surprise. "What? That's what C would say!"

Moses and Senel took on a fighting stance, ready to enact their spur-of-the-moment plan: fight their target here and now.

"Stop it!" Shirley yelled, her normally quiet voice cutting through the hubbub.

"Shirley?" Senel asked in surprise.

"Whether or not we trust her is not the point! We have what could possibly save Jay's life in our possession! What use is that if all we're going to do is bicker while Jay gets worse, possibly to the point of no return?" She turned to Will and said, in a commanding voice, "Will, please analyze that liquid."

"Y-yes, of course," Will stuttered, taken aback by Shirley's outburst. He went back into the house to do whatever had to be done for the analysis.

"You realize that if that's a poison, you'll be in trouble," Senel growled.

"Yes, I ascertained as such," Corinne sighed.

"You had better prepare yourself," Senel added.

"I've nothing to prepare for; that's an antidote and nothing more," Corinne replied coolly.

"Hey, this is a little off topic, but why do you have a wig on?" Moses interrupted.

"It seems to have become a habit over all these years."

"What's your real hair look like?"

"Hair, of course."

A strange noise, like a gurgling pig, betrayed the fact that Norma was snorting and giggling at that comment. Moses tensed, realizing that he was being made into a fool, and decided to chase after Norma. Grune ran after them, singing in the breeze, leaving Senel, Shirley, and Corinne.

"I am not leaving this spot," Senel said flatly, breaking the awkward silence as he created a barrier between Shirley and Corinne.

"Do what you like," Corinne shrugged.

"Um, Senel?" Shirley piped up after another silence.

"What is it, Shirley?" Senel asked.

"Could I talk to her for a moment?" Shirley asked, gesturing to Corinne, "Girl-to-girl? Alone?" she added in a whisper.

"I'm not sure…" Senel said reluctantly.

"Swearing on my blade, I won't do anything to her," Corinne reassured him. Digging into her pocket, she took out her Hanabi blade and gave it to him.

Senel stared at the outstretched weapon for a moment, then snatched it from her. "Fine, but only for a little while," he sighed.

"Thank you, Senel," Shirley said happily.

While Senel stalked into Will's house, where a white cap of hair soon peeked out of the nearest window, Shirley led Corinne a few paces to the edge of the river.

"What did you want to talk with me for?" Corinne asked.

"Well, um…" Shirley started, realizing she didn't know the girl's name.

"Corinne," Corinne muttered, slightly awkwardly. "My name is Corinne."

"Corinne, I just…at the Bridge…how are your wounds?" she asked in a rush.

"My…wounds?"

"That Solon guy beat you around a lot…I was afraid he was going to kill you!"

"They were not that serious."

"And another thing about that," Shirley said shyly. Corinne looked up, waiting for the question.

"Jay…he's your brother, isn't he?"

There was a stunned silence, with Corinne trying to say something instead of wondering about how she found out.

"Jay told you?" she asked finally.

"No…when you were unconscious, you said 'Jay nii-san; it was little more than an educated guess from there," Shirley smiled. "Besides, I'm like you; Senel is my older brother."

"Shirley-san," Corinne said quietly.

"What is it?"

"Please tell no one of what you know of me," she requested.

"Why not?"

"He's said nothing of me; it's evident he's disgusted with how pathetic I am. I do not wish to be a burden; please do not tell your friends that you know my name, or my relationship to Jay. It would be best for him to not have to remember me; he would not wish to."

"What are you talking about?! Of course he'd want to remember!" Shirley exclaimed, standing up.

"A pathetic little girl like me, who tried to kill him? No matter what he says, I know he's disgusted by me."

"He doesn't feel that way," Shirley reassured her.

"How can you be certain?" Corinne asked.

"I just don't see him feeling like that," Shirley said.

"Shirley! The antidote is valid! We're heading to the hospital!" Will called across the road.

"Coming!" Shirley called back. Turning to Corinne, she said "Don't worry, I won't tell," before returning to her companions, who were starting towards the hospital.

"Hold on a minute," Moses said, halting the progress towards the hospital. He turned back to Corinne, who was still standing by the river, apparently not having any previous activities. "You're comin' along, too. Don't you want your dagger back?"

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Corinne asked testily; she really disliked the idea of going to a hospital.

"Do you want your dagger back or don't you?" Moses grinned, waving the dagger around.

"Come on, don't you want to see Jay get better?" Shirley pressed.

While it was Shirley's comment that broke her resistance, she used a more cynical cover.

"I'd be slightly more concerned by the damage that's going to be done if he continues playing with my dagger," she said, indicating Moses with her finger as she walked over to join them.


	11. Hanabi Poison: User's Wounds

Although they had requested Corinne come along, Jay's companions did not trust her, and asked her to stay downstairs. She understood, as she had been the cause of Jay's hospitalization in the first place; since none, save Shirley, knew her name or the truth about her, they were right to be suspicious. She calmly sat downstairs, alone, waiting patiently for someone to come down and break the monotony of the silence.

Shifting to one side, a sharp pain suddenly shot through her limbs, breaking her composure and making her wince. The many times she had sustained injuries such as serious cuts and broken bones, she had learned to endure the resulting pain due to Solon's tough training. However, he had been rougher on her than normal at the Bridge, making the healing time unusually long. Trying to find the source of the pain, she gently stomped her legs on the floor. Small pricks of pain were all that came. Moving her left arm, too, brought little pain. A small feeling of dread sat in her stomach: this process of elimination meant that the worst damage had to be in her right arm, the arm she used for most when fighting. Her worst fears were confirmed when the wave of pain swept over her the instant she moved it. Placing her hands back in her lap, she struggled to keep the throbbing pain from stealing her consciousness.

"Hey, you…what's your name?" Moses called, storming down the hospital stairs.

"Must you be so loud?" Corinne groaned in annoyance; now her ears, too, were aching, "This is a hospital."

"Man, yer just like Jay," Moses grumbled, "and you didn't answer my question."

Corinne searched through her foggy memory, taking an alarmingly long time to remember what the question even was. "Oh, you mean my name? That's right; I never properly introduced myself…"

Standing up to give a formal introduction, she felt her legs give two protesting twinges of pain, sending one of the biggest swarms of nausea and dizziness she had ever experienced through her body.

"H-hey! Are you okay?" Moses asked, a note of concern in his voice. Corinne blinked, wondering what the matter was. It took her a moment to realize her body was not vertical; she was leaning on Moses, who was awkwardly holding her.

Jumping straight back onto her own two feet, she bowed deeply in apology, shaking from humiliation and pain. "I am sorry; it appears I have lost too much sleep."

"Are you sure that's all? You look like yer hurtin' somewhere," Moses insisted.

"I'm overly tired, that's all" Corinne rushed, "I'm sorry I did such a pathetic thing in front of you. I'll take my leave now. Don't worry anyone else over this."

"W-wha?" Moses was totally perplexed by the sudden rush of words. Comprehending the last sentence, his mind quickly formed the inevitable question. "Why not?"

"He's recovering, and he doesn't need anything troubling on his mind, even if it is about someone as worthless as pathetic as I am."

"Now hold on a minute! How do you get off saying yer pathetic and worthless?"

"Because it is the truth. Can I trust you to withhold this incident; no, that I was even here, from Jay and the others?"

Moses looked at Corinne for a moment. "What is Jay to you?"

"That's impertinent," Corinne said impatiently.

"You know him somehow, other than when we all went to the Bridge," Moses pressed.

"So I do," Corinne agreed.

"C'mon, I wanna know!" Moses pleaded.

Without missing a beat, she answered him in as an elusive manner as possible. "If Jay hasn't already told you, he probably doesn't want you to know. Ask him if you really desire that information; it's up to him whether or not you acquire an answer."

Moses realized that he wouldn't get anywhere and gave up. "When he wakes up, I'll ask him. You go take a nice, long nap, now."

"Thank you," Corinne said quietly, exiting the hospital. Her business in Werites Beacon done, she left town and took the duct to the bow of the ship, at the Altar of the Sea. Taking a perilous and well-hidden path through the nearby mountains, she eventually made it to where she and Solon were residing; a place that was doubling as a camp for Vaclav's slowly regenerating forces. The clearing was littered with tents, which she silently passed by, heading straight for the small cave that she, as part of her training, lived in. Carefully, she sat down on the grass on the floor, arranging herself in the least painful position possible; despite the lack of comfort, she easily fell asleep.

Cashel had been amusing himself by throwing rocks at a trapped mouse in his tent, making it run in random directions from the deadly stones. He had created a full circle around the mouse, so that it no longer had anywhere to run. Because of this, he was considering killing it, but was distracted by the sound of quiet footsteps. He poked his head out of the tent, and saw Corinne going to her cave. Recalling that she had left that morning, he stealthily crept over towards her, in hopes of gaining some sort of semi-interesting information. However, when he reached her, he realized she had fallen asleep; he growled and turned to leave, putting him nose-to-nose with Solon, who had apparently just arrived.

"Hello," Solon said pleasantly.

"H…hello," Cashel replied.

Solon moved past the Terror and knelt by his apprentice. He looked at her for a long time, then turned back to Cashel, who was awkwardly standing by.

"Did she leave the area?" he asked.

"This morning she did; only now she got back."

Solon sighed in annoyance, standing up and brushing himself off. "No doubt she went to Werites Beacon; she probably even went so far as to go against my orders and bring her brother the antidote to her dagger's poison."

"Brother?" Cashel asked, his eyes showing interest.

"Jay the Unseen," Solon said simply.

"Gah! That brat has made a fool of me two times too many!" Cashel exploded, "He has his death coming by my hand!"

"My apprentice is quite sharp; that may prove difficult," Solon said softly, "though I have been planning to bring him back."

"Meaning?" Cashel asked, perplexed by the strange response.

"I have an idea. We can set a trap for Jay, testing whether or not his skills have declined. If he fails, you may kill him."

"I like where this is going, do say more," Cashel smirked, courteously showing the way to his tent.


	12. Do Note Hate Me

The ceiling seemed a white, hazy cloud, greeting Jay as he opened his eyes. His moment adjusting to the sudden light was rudely interrupted by a fuzzy red thing, which, more by logic than sight, he recognized as Moses.

"Jay, you're awake," Moses grinned.

"Yes, I see that," Jay sighed; of all the things to wake up to, it had to be this stupid bandit.

"How do you feel?" Shirley asked softly.

"I'd feel better if I didn't have the stupid bandit in my face," Jay told her.

Moses stomped his foot in annoyance. "What was that, Jay?!"

"I think we just confirmed that JJ's fine," Norma quipped.

"So it would seem," Will agreed.

"Yes, I'm fine; no need to worry about me," Jay said, pushing Moses away. Despite his reassuring comment, the doctor nevertheless came in and started fussing about, checking every inch of his body for any abnormality; knowing it would be pointless to resist, Jay put up with it. Eventually, he deemed Jay fit, healthy, and fully healed, but added that he should rest in the hospital for another day.

"That's good news," Senel smiled, "Isn't it, Shirley?"

No response came from Shirley, who was staring out of the window intently, as though she had seen something.

"Shirley?"

"Oh, yes, it's very good news," Shirley said hurriedly, giggling in embarrassment and relief. "I'm sorry, but I'm going to go out for a bit; I'm in the mood for a walk."

"All right, don't take too long," Senel nodded, watching her like a hawk as she left the room.

Shirley nearly ran out of the hospital building, looking for the blonde head she had seen in the window. There was no mistaking that hair, or rather, that wig. Politely pushing through the crowded streets, she found herself halfway across town before she found Corinne again. Nearly swimming over to the building that housed the weapons and armor shops, she caught Corinne's attention as she was about to go through the door.

"Shirley-san, hello," Corinne blinked, a little surprised.

"I thought you'd like to know," Shirley gasped breathlessly, "Jay woke up a little while ago. He'll be out of the hospital after resting today."

"I'm glad to hear that," Corinne said with her normal suppressed emotions, though a slight aura of happiness did show itself.

"Why don't you come over and visit him?" Shirley suggested.

"Oh, no, I couldn't…I'm busy shopping for supplies," Corinne said, shaking her head.

"I see…that's a shame," Shirley said, her eyes downcast in her sincere disappointment.

Seeing the look on Shirley's face, Corinne slung her bags onto one shoulder and fished around in her pocket, procuring a pen and paper. Scribbling something down on the paper, she handed it to Shirley.

"What's this?" Shirley asked.

"It's a note for Jay. Please don't tell him who sent it; he should be able to figure out on his own. Say you found it on the ground or something."

With this, Corinne said her farewells and disappeared among the throngs of people. Knowing that it would take her a while to fight against the sea of people, Shirley, too, went on her way, beginning the trek back to the hospital.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"And there you have it," Solon concluded, "my latest use of time."

"It's brilliant," Cashel sighed in admiration, "Purely wicked and evil…and brilliant."

"When my apprentice returns, we shall commence," Solon stated.

"Are you sure she'll cooperate?"

"She will. I have my ways," Solon said with a small smile.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"I'm back," Shirley called, opening the door to Jay's hospital room.

"Welcome back," Senel said.

Jay was now tentatively sitting up in his bed, nibbling on a piece of toast. He was constantly pushing Moses away, who was apparently unable to comprehend the concept of personal space. Will was speaking with the doctor, while Norma had fallen asleep on Grune's shoulder, who was sitting placidly on the floor.

Remembering Corinne's note, Shirley began to straight out tell Jay that she had found a note addressed to him, but stopped herself. Knowing the nature of her companions, she knew that Corinne's secret note would not stay secret for long. To the best of her abilities, she concocted a plan to discreetly deliver the note.

"I see you're feeling better," she said to Jay, striding over to his bedside.

"Yes, I am," Jay nodded.

"Yep! That's our little Jay!" Moses grinned.

"He sure is little," Norma quipped; she joined Moses in getting a dirty look from Jay.

Shirley chose this little distraction to act. Turning towards Moses and Norma, who were at the foot of Jay's bed, she slid the note into her right hand. Slowly, carefully, she extended it towards Jay, hoping that he would notice it and cover her. To her relief, he threw her a fleeting questioning glance, but wasted no time to make a slight show of rearranging his blankets, a cover for taking the note. Reaching for a nearby book, he used the classic book-within-a-book trick to unfold and read the note. Although she tried to not be intrusive, Shirley couldn't help but look on.

"Awww, look at lil' bookworm Jay!" Moses cooed, grinning mischievously.

Slamming the book shut, Jay snapped "Thanks for breaking my concentration, you supreme idiot! With you in my ear, it's impossible to understand a single word!"

"What's this? You can't read?" Moses asked, looking shell-shocked.

"That's not what I said. I can read it, but it's hard to concentrate with you in my ear; that's what I said!" Jay hissed; his eyes were screwed shut, trying to control his annoyance.

Shirley watched the fight with her own annoyance; she really wanted Jay to read what she had brought to him. She was sure that he would be happy to hear from his younger sister, just as she was sure Senel would be happy to hear from her, were they in that same position.

"That's an interesting bookmark," Norma interrupted, slinking over to the piece of paper sticking out of the book. Shirley hurriedly tried to snatch the book away and get it to safety, but she was too late. Norma already had the note in her hand, and had sat down again by Grune; she was bringing it to reading distance. Moses knelt down next to Norma, eagerly eyeing the note.

"It's just a piece of paper," Jay said in exasperation, "may I please have it back to keep my page?"

"You already lost it," Moses pointed out, his eyes traveling back to the page in Norma's hands just as she revealed the writing. His eyes popped out of his head, as did Norma's, and they simultaneously stared, then looked at Jay, an evil grin on their faces.

"What did you call this again?" Norma said slyly.

"I believe he said it was 'just a piece of paper'," Moses said, barely able to control himself.

"I found it on the floor this morning," Jay shrugged, expertly hiding his annoyance. Shirley, on the other hand, had nearly rushed out of the room, saying she needed a glass of water.

"Let's read it anyway!" Norma smirked, clearing her throat to begin doing so. However, her throat soon made a strange sputtering nose, followed by a "What is this?!"

"What, ya can't read?" Moses smirked, looking over at the note. "Now let's see—what in the hell?!"

"I told you!" Norma snapped in exasperation.

"What seems to be the matter?" Will asked, walking over.

"It's a jumble of letters!" Norma exploded, showing him the note.

"Q…x…y…z…r…t…l…o..." Grune read slowly, "Oh my, that sounds fun!"

"You can understand it?!" Norma exclaimed.

"Not at all, but whatever it is, it sounds fun!" Grune smiled.

"Maybe it's some kind of code?" Senel suggested.

"Yes! It's a code; of course! Armed with this new information, we'll have the answer in no time!" Norma and Moses grinned.

"You're only realizing this now?" Jay said dryly.

"What, you knew?" came the sly question.

"It's an obvious fact," Jay sighed, discreetly rolling his eyes.

"Whatever," Norma said dismissively, "I'll just take this to decode it, and we'll find out what it says in no time!"

"Actually," Jay reminded her, "I need it as a bookmark."

"But—" Norma squeaked, doing her best puppy dog eyes.

"Norma, give it to Jay," Will sighed, walking over, his demeanor hinting that he was aiming for her head. Sensing this, Norma hastily returned the note to Jay.

Walking in with Shirley, the doctor announced the end of visiting hours. Finally having a moment to himself, Jay opened the note; contrary to Norma and Moses' confusion, he had no problem reading his younger sister's coded message, full of apologies and hidden get wells. A small smile formed on his lips as he folded up the message, concealed it within the book, and settled underneath the covers to go to sleep.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Corinne." Sharper than the blade he used, Solon's voice cut across the crisp evening air, stopping the girl in her tracks. She respectfully turned around, tacitly acknowledging that she had heard him.

"I need you to help me with something. Please, come inside," he continued, gesturing to Cashel's tent. Wordlessly, she followed him inside, trying to ignore the foreboding knot that had formed in her stomach.


	13. Solon's Plan

"What is this?" Corinne whispered, her eyes eagerly surveying the array spread out before her.

"This," Solon said grandly, "is my latest plan." He grandly indicated the wide spread of papers and models placed on several papers in the tent.

"This is amazing! Not only is there a perfectly rendered model of the Legacy and its major regions and ducts, but separate, detailed models of the area inside the regions!"

"Come now, did you expect anything less from me?" Solon asked her.

"Of course not, Master, but…this is amazing!" she exclaimed, flitting around, examining every scrap of information on the table.

"It is not necessary to read the details," Cashel said from the corner; unlike Solon, he did not know much about Corrine, and did not know how much of the plan she would be able to figure out. He had a feeling that, she being the sister of "that brat", she wouldn't have a large amount of trouble assessing and assembling the information.

Catching on to his comrade's unease, Solon agreed. "Yes, when we begin the operation tomorrow, all necessary information will be disclosed. You need not worry about anything except for getting some rest."

Trying to hide her disappointment at this stop to her reading, Corinne obeyed, putting down the papers and traveling the short distance to her cave.

"Relax, Cashel," Solon said, "Even she wouldn't be able to figure it out from the small portion she read."

"I hope you're right," Cashel muttered, taking out a thick packet of papers labeled with the letters OAF. With a nod of consent from Solon, he began reading it, his eyes widening and a wicked grin forming as his eyes traversed the sheets. The flipping of the pages was the only sound present besides the two men's breathing. Finally, as the packet returned to its normal position, Solon broke the silence.

"It is still to your liking?" he questioned.

"It's beautiful…" Cashel said lovingly, looking about ready to stroke the paper, "With this plan, even if that brat survives, he'll suffer. There's no way he can win. I am going to love this."

"As will I, as will I," Solon smirked.

Time went on quietly, both men making last minute mental notes to aid them on tomorrow's execution of the plan. It was in the early hours of the morning that Solon stood up.

"Where are you going?" Cashel questioned, his eyes shooting open.

"I had a thought: it may be better to take Corinne to the first point now; she'll have a harder time resisting the imminent bloodletting if she's already there."

"What should I do?"

"Deliver the note as planned, please."

"I will do that."

Solon left the tent, going over to where his apprentice slept, unaware of the plot against her brother and her part in it. He picked her up, slung her over his shoulder, and set off to the part of the Legacy where his nefarious plans would begin.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Will's house housed six guests that morning, all sleeping over, awaiting the time that their friend would be released from the hospital. Sitting around and dozing off, as it was just beginning to turn light outside, everyone was suddenly jumping out of their seats, nearly having a heart attack from the sudden adrenalin rush that the sound of an opening door created. To their relief, no enemy walked in: instead, Jay, looking as healthy as ever, entered.

"You're back early," Will commented.

"I'm not one for loitering in hospitals," Jay shrugged.

"Where's the fire?" Norma mumbled, rolling off of the couch. "Ow…"

"Ow!" Moses yelped; a second later, Norma sprang up from the floor, Moses flattened underneath her.

"Eeew! That's what that nasty smell was!" Norma whined.

"I ain't a mattress, Bubbles!" Moses yelled.

"Both of you, be quiet! It's early morning!" Will snapped.

"Honestly, you really don't know what quiet is, do you?" Jay asked of Moses.

"Why you little—Jay, what are you doing here?" Moses blinked, realizing the oddness of Jay's presence.

"I got out of the hospital, obviously," Jay said, rolling his eyes.

"Congratulations. Now can I go back to sleep?" he complained.

"Nobody asked for you to wake up, stupid bandit," Jay snapped.

"Moses and Jay…fighting again…within five minutes…" Senel muttered, already half-asleep.

"I'm glad you're okay, Jay," Shirley smiled. Internally, she couldn't wait to tell Corinne, knowing that, although she may not show it, she would be delighted at the news.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Corinne," a voice drifted through her dream, seeming to come from a bright orange rock. Corinne stared at the rock, which promptly began hopping up and down.

"Corinne," the voice came again, and her eyes snapped open. Solon was staring straight down at her; embarrassed, she awkwardly sat up, muttering about how she must have fallen asleep. However, when she realized that the rock of her cave was gone, and that she was sitting in a large, brightly lit cavern, near an underground lake, she instantly tensed, realizing something had happened while she'd slept.

"Where…am I?" she wondered aloud, though she really didn't have to; her mind recognized this place as the Oresoren Village.

"You're at the Oresoren Village," Solon told her, showing no annoyance towards her ignorance.

"Ah, yes, I see now," Corinne nodded, "But I don't remember coming here."

"I carried you here."

"I'm sorry for the burden."

"It's quite all right. I'd intended to do it. More importantly, you wouldn't happen to recall my asking you for assistance in my latest plan, would you?"

"I remember that."

"All right, that's good. My request is simple. You know what an Oresoren is, correct?"

"Yes; they are the talking otters that inhabit this place."

"Correct. I would like you to make that cease to be fact."

Corinne stared at her master in disbelief. She couldn't believe that she had heard him right: wipe out the Oresoren?

"Corinne," Solon repeated, his voice sharpening, "Do it."

Beginning to stand, her legs threatened to liquefy themselves, hindering her as though she was supporting herself with jelly. Slowly but stubbornly forcing her legs to hold her weight, she gave a small, respectful bow to her master before beginning a cautious but steady walk towards the village.

Taking it upon himself to give her motivation to carry out the killing, Solon decided to reveal the purpose of this massacre to her. Easily catching up to her slight progress, he whispered in a low voice "If you kill them, Jay will have no reason not to return to us."

"He will have no reason to return, either," Corinne replied.

"I believe you are reason enough."

"How can you be so sure that my brother would care about someone as worthless as myself?"

Solon paused for a moment. It was true that he was basing this plan on Jay's personality and a few assumptions, which he had good grounds for making, but Corinne's arguments were just as likely.

"Do you have another solution?" he hissed.

Her legs refusing to continue, she stood still, pondering the question she had been given.. She would, of course, have preferred that they left the Oresoren and Jay alone; not involving him in her master's various whims, but that could not be helped. Killing the Oresoren did not seem like a good idea to her; if anything, it would cause unnecessary trouble. She knew that Solon probably wanted to see the blood, but to her, it didn't seem worth it. Wanting to cause as little trouble for Jay as possible, she finally came to a conclusion.

"Stage the massacre, not perform it. Capture the Oresoren villagers, and transfer them to another location. It may be useful," Corinne's fingers twitched at the cruel usage of the word, "to keep them alive."

A cruel smile formed on Solon's lips. "A truly worthy idea. I do believe you have proven yourself, my dear apprentice." He turned to the entrance, where Cashel had appeared. "I trust you have heard our new plan?"

"Yes; my men will capture the Oresoren at once," Cashel nodded.

Corinne, seeing that her mission had been halted in the favor of another one, and knowing that she'd saved the lives of those whom her brother truly cared about, turned to exit the village.

"And just where do you think you're going?" Solon's voice stopped her.

Corinne stopped to think. In truth, she had been considering going to Werites Beacon, in order to alert her brother to the still present crisis. However, this had been nothing more than a consideration, as she knew the consequences that it would bring.

"I know you too well, Corinne; I know that the guilt will drive you to confess to your brother, as it always has. As loyal as you are to me, your heart is still loyal to your brother, it seems."

Corinne gave no response, unable to think of something worth saying.

"I can't take any chances, Corinne. Rest well, my dear apprentice."

With no time to react, no less dodge, Solon's fist impacted like a wrecking ball, causing a surge of pain to emanate from her abdomen. The air forced out of her, Corinne doubled over her master's fist, winded; it may have been her imagination, but a small spattering of red fluid expelled from her mouth. Through either bravery or stupidity, which one she could not discern through her mind, which was as foggy as her hazing vision, she stood up, falling back into Solon's cruel, waiting grasp as unconsciousness swallowed her up.


	14. OAF: Stage 1

"What do you wanna do for your first day back, JJ?" Norma grinned.

"I'm not sure; I only just got back, after all," Jay shrugged. Evidently he saw this event as nothing more than a mediocre fact of life.

"I know what we should do, Jay!" Moses grinned, resting his elbows on Jay's head.

"Skin you and hang you outside for the beasts to feast on?" Jay suggested dangerously. Moses, however, missed the not-exactly-subtle hint, and continued to lean.

"Naw, nothing like that, little buddy; what we need to do is have a party!"

"I like your thinking, Red!" Norma grinned, her eyes aglow.

"Can I please object to this?" Jay sighed hopelessly.

"Let them have their fun, Jay," Senel called dismissively from the other side of the room.

"Yes, it's a joyous occasion for us, so relax and celebrate," Will agreed.

"I don't really feel like celebrating," Jay muttered, "In fact, I feel horrible."

"Don't be a party pooper, Jay! You're ruining the good mood!" Moses chided, putting extra pressure on his armrest.

"Have the party without me then, Moses, and see if I care!" Jay snapped, ducking suddenly and letting Moses fall, his support gone. "I'm going out for a bit."

He strode out the door, leaving his friends speechless.

"Maybe I should talk to him," Shirley suggested finally.

"Just leave him be, Shirley," Senel negated, shaking his head "Besides, who knows if he's even in town."

"He probably went to the Oresoren Village; it would make sense, if you thought about it," Will pointed out.

"Yeah, Senel, I'm sure that's where he's headed. Can't we go talk to him?" Shirley pleaded.

"I still think it would be better to leave him alone," Senel repeated.

At this, Shirley lost her patience. "All right, you can think that, but I still think it would be better to talk to him, so I'll go."

Before Senel could stop her, she moved with amazing speed through and out of the door, evidently striding towards the Oresoren village. Sighing, the remaining six got up and prepared to leave, following Shirley to the village.

Jay was not hard to locate. He was, as expected, headed towards the Oresoren Village; however, he had not gotten the opportunity to leave Werites Beacon. His friends found him at the entrance to town, tensely standing, ready for battle. Facing him was a person that had been defeated twice: Cashel the Phantom.

"What's going on here!?" Senel demanded, running between the two ninja.

"I'm just minding my own business when this brat shows up," Cashel snarled.

"He just happened to be entering town when I was leaving," Jay told Senel.

"What are you doing here?" Senel asked suspiciously, glaring at Cashel.

To everyone's chagrin, the Terror's eyes betrayed a malicious smirk. "Oh, me? Why, I'm merely the courier. In fact, I should be glad that I ran into this brat; I do believe I have something for him."

"How thoughtful of you," Jay muttered sarcastically. Knowing Cashel's nature, he was taking caution, as the 'something' in question could very well be some sort of weapon. However, the object produced from Cashel's pocket was not a weapon of any sort; instead, a crisp, white envelope was clasped in his hand.

"Take it, it's for you," he spat, tossing the letter Frisbee style at Jay, who lashed his hand out and caught it.

"What is it?" Jay asked him.

Cashel laughed; evidently there was some element to this he was enjoying. "Why don't you read it? You can read, can't you?" he taunted.

Slightly provoked, Jay broke his tradition of reading personal notes away from prying eyes, ripping open the envelope then and there. Cashel watched him intently, expectantly staring at his face as the boy begin to read. His expectant smirk grew to an insane grin, wide enough to nearly be seen peeking over his face mask; Jay's face had grown ashen, his eyes were wide, and a cold sweat was announcing itself on his face.

"What's it say?" Moses begged expectantly, completely oblivious to his companion's blatant distress. He peeked over Jay's shoulder, trying to read the note.

"It's nothing…" Jay said shakily, "Just…a dire statistic about a certain area of the Legacy…"

Cashel snorted. "I'm sure that's it. Now what did he really say?"

"How are you certain that my source is a he?" Jay asked; his voice had stopped shaking, and he was returning to glaring suspiciously at Cashel. Without a further word, he dropped the paper on the ground and stabbed it with his dagger; immediately it ignited, erasing the words from existence.

"Well, I've done my part; I have no reason to remain here," Cashel announced, quickly masking his disappointment at not being able to read the letter. He gave the party one last smirk before disappearing in a puff of smoke.

"Jay, are you okay?" Senel asked.

"You looked really shaken," Chloe added.

"It's nothing, really," Jay told them, managing a reassuring smile.

"Was it a love letter?" Norma asked, perking up.

"Jay's so lucky to be so popular!" Grune smiled cheerfully; to celebrate, she waltzed over to Jay, promptly giving him a large hug.

"Um…no…that wasn't it," Jay stuttered awkwardly, blushing at the position he was in.

"Man, I'd kill to be you," Moses muttered jealously.

"Don't worry, Moses, you're popular, too," Grune told him reassuringly, releasing her hold on Jay to give him a large hug as well.

"Yeehaw!" Moses shouted in ecstasy; his greatest wish granted, he rumbled off into the town, undoubtedly scaring several townspeople with his one-man commotion.

"You were going to the Oresoren village, Jay, correct?" Will asked.

"No…I'm not quite sure where I was headed, actually," Jay laughed lightly in embarrassment.

Norma yawned. "Teach, let's go back to your place. I'm beat."

"You're tired already?" Chloe asked in surprise.

"That's Norma for you," Senel reminded her.

"I think we should return to my house for the time being, unless there are any other suggestions?" Will concluded. No one spoke, so the walk to Will's house began.

Shirley stayed back during the walk, evening her pace with Jay's, who was uncharacteristically lagging behind. Although he had brushed it off, she couldn't help but be worried; besides the fact that Jay almost never showed as much emotion as he had while reading that note, she had a bad feeling.

"Jay, what's wrong?" she whispered. Her words broke him out of a trance of thought, leaving him totally clueless as to what she had just said. Repeating her question, he began to brush the matter off again, but she repeated a third time, this time in a firmer manner. Sensing that it would be worse if he persisted in trying to evade her, Jay gave a resigned sigh.

"It's just…personal problems. That note was a riddle, the meaning of which, if I understood it correctly, I happen to dislike greatly."

"What was the riddle?" Shirley asked nervously; the scenario she had created in her mind to explain the note was changing, noticeably for the darker.

"_My dear apprentice, I will get past the pleasantries, since I shall see you soon enough,_" Jay recited, his voice shaking almost unnoticeably, "_I give you a simple question: whose heart shall bleed, and which spared? Will you betray those who were so kind to you, or will you shatter a heart twice?_"

"I'm afraid I don't understand," Shirley said slowly, "What does that mean?"

"It means that an enemy of mine wants something from me, and he has the resources to ensure it."

Shirley paled after the meaning of her friend's words hit her. "They want to harm the Oresoren?!"

"It's worse than just that," Jay admitted darkly, "Besides you and the others, they have endangered everything important to me."

Her mind still concentrating on the fact that the Oresoren were in danger, Shirley did not, at first, comprehend what Jay meant. "What are we going to do about the Oresoren?"

"I'm not sure…the fine print of the note said to wait at the top of the Great Hollow tomorrow morning at sunrise; I suppose I'll have to find out what they want then."

"You're thinking of going alone," Shirley said, "and you think that all of us will just let you do that."

"This matter is beyond your concern or control. This is a personal matter."

"That still doesn't justify you running off on your own, Jay; we're you're friends. We want to help you if you have a problem."

"The last thing I need is to endanger all of you. It's hard enough choosing between two important things in one's life."

This time, Shirley heard the factor of two important things. Her mind set on convincing Jay to alert the others and let them travel with him to the Great Hollow, her brain was already in its keenest rhythm, so the truth dawned on her quickly.

"Corrine, too?" she asked softly, horrified.

"Yes—but wait, how do you…?" Jay's sharp mind had noticed the use of a name he was certain was unknown to Shirley.

"She was on the Bridge, and has been around town," Shirley explained quickly, "Which reminds me, did you get a chance to read that note?"

"Yes, thank you for bringing it to me," Jay nodded, forgetting for a brief moment the dire situation he was in.

"What are we going to do?" Shirley asked, turning off of the road to head to Will's front door, which the others had already walked through.

"I don't know," Jay said honestly. A flicker of pain, sadness, and rage crossed his face, revealing to Shirley that was truly unable to figure out a favorable solution.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The world was dark. Corinne hadn't realized it before, but her present location in the world was dark. She wondered vaguely why she hadn't noticed this, and realized in her ponderings that her memories cut off at a certain point.

A pain beating inside her head like a thousand drums confirmed her memories: it seemed that returning from a forced unconsciousness always entailed the same bothersome telltale signs.

"Ors?" The sound came as more of a nuclear explosion of her headache than a sound of concern, effectively bringing Corinne out of her half-conscious state; she was now in quite the opposite state, having screamed in surprise while bolting up, panting and sweating. The slight addition of brightness dazed her eyes, though once the adjustments had been made, it was really only a trickle of soft, dim light. Surrounding her were several brown, furry somethings, which, after staring at them for a while and realizing that they said "ors", Corinne identified as the Oresoren.

"Are you okay?" sounded the voice that had woken her; she was now able to recognize it from her stay with the Oresoren: it was Quppo.

"I think I am," Corinne mumbled slowly, moving to put her hands on her head, where she made a discovery: not only was she in a dark place with the Oresoren, but someone had tied her hands together. "Then again, I could be worse off than I originally thought," she corrected dryly.

"Are you feeling all right? You had really big cuts all over your body, and you were running a high fever a while ago," another voice, Pippo's, informed her, "I think we were able to keep your ailments from being fatal."

"Thank you—wait, how long have I been here? Speaking of which, where is here? And…why am I here? How did I get here?" Corinne rushed, realizing that her current situation was answered by an abundance of "I don't know's"—something that she, like her elder brother, could not stand.

"I'm sorry…we don't know all of that. All we do know is that two men we'd been told about many times, Solon and Cashel, suddenly appeared with an army of ninja, forcing us to go into a big wheeled thing," Poppo lamented, "You were put in here shortly after we were, and I'm pretty sure that was last night, but besides that…"

"I see," Corinne sighed; what the hell was her master doing?

"I hear talking in there, so I'd assume that you're awake, brat apprentice?" Cashel's smug voice sneered through one of the walls.

Choosing to ignore the nickname, Corinne answered. "You assume correctly. Would you mind telling me what's going on?"

"I would mind, actually," Cashel laughed, "since you seem like one who could easily interfere with my victory!"

"I'm tied up and surrounded by talking otters, shut in some dark cavity in some unknown place. I'm really set up to just jump up and interfere," Corinne said dryly.

"You're just like the other brat; you could easily think up some conniving plan," Cashel spat.

"Ah, you're awake?" Solon's voice interrupted, "That's good, I was afraid that you were actually going to die."

"What?" Corinne blinked.

"Oh, that's right, you were unconscious. I used your idea of staging a massacre of the Oresoren, instead of actually killing them, as you can see, and to simulate bloodshed, I had to use your blood."

"I see," Corinne mumbled, unsure of how to respond.

"I do wonder if Jay's visited the village yet; I know the note implies that I haven't harmed anyone yet, but then, I can be quite unpredictable."

"I'm confused," Quppo spoke up, deliberately facing the direction Solon's voice was coming from, "What's going on here?"

"Of course, you should know about this," Solon said after a moment, "I know it's rather rude of me to do this to you, but I really needed to talk to Jay; this was the only way I could ensure that I could do so."

"Pretty elaborate way," Poppo commented. Hurriedly, Corinne put her finger to her lips, trying to keep the Oresoren quite; she knew what it was like when someone was rude to her master, and she didn't want them, who didn't know any better, to suffer through it.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"This is…horrible…" Norma gasped.

"So much blood," Senel winced.

"I can't believe it," Will whispered in shock.

The party stood at the entrance to the Oresoren village. Jay, with the urge of Shirley, had told them about the note, and Will had suggested that they go at once to the Oresoren village, in order to warn, if not protect, the Oresoren. However, it seemed that they had arrived too late: the village was eerily quiet, and none of the normal inhabitants, save Jay, were present; in their place, large splattered pools of blood stained the earth.

Jay took a few steps away from his friends, walking, eyes wide in disbelief, through the empty streets. Instinctively, he wound his way to the home of the Scallop Brothers, where he was greeted by a thick, red welcome mat. The realization that the Oresoren, his family, were gone hit full force, draining all strength and restraint. At that moment, Jay the Unseen fell to his knees and cried.


	15. OAF: Stage 2

There was silence in the Oresoren village, save the occasional sob loud enough to echo through the silent buildings. They were gone, all of them. The blood could only mean death—the Oresoren were dead, gone forever. Jay felt the anger well up inside of him, anger towards the only bastard capable of doing something this low, but grief was still dominant, and any uprising rage was quickly deflated and washed away in the torrents of tears.

A pair of arms, friendly and comforting, wrapped around him in an embrace, and Jay looked up momentarily, to see Shirley clinging to him, feeling his grief and crying for him and for the Oresoren. Chloe looked down at the ground, having had a stream of tears interrupt what had been an intended comforting smile. Will closed his eyes silently in a moment of silence. Senel and Moses looked frighteningly livid, fists clenched and teeth bared; Moses occasionally swore and punched the nearby wall of the cavern. The grief was felt by them all; even Grune looked upset, although she seemed otherwise oblivious to the situation. Time seemed lost, as though it had left with the Oresoren. The tears flowed on.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The very ones being mourned were, at that same time, still sitting in their dark prison, trying to raise questions to Solon, but being silenced hurriedly by Corinne. She knew that he was being unusually lenient with them; if they didn't submit to his nefarious plans, sitting there without voicing question, blood would be spilled, slowly and painfully. The area around them, where Solon and Cashel were, was quiet; Corinne could sense the two men in the corner, undoubtedly discussing something. Some period of time later, a third presence approached; now, Corinne could hear the excited whispering of a messenger, saying that "the apprentice grieves in the cavern," and that it was time for the next stage of the plan.

It may have been that her reflexes, already hindered by her bindings, were dulled by blood loss, it may have been that she, too, wanted to know the answer; either way, by the time Corinne noticed the furry form of Quppo rushing past her to the wall through which their captors could be reached, it was too late to stop him.

"What are you going to do with Jay?" he demanded angrily.

A stony silence greeted him in response, accompanied by a disconcerting feeling: a sort of anger mixed with vengeance, sprinkled with sadistic glee; the feeling given off by one whose bloodlust had been awakened.

"We are not in a position to ask," Corinne whispered quietly, gently guiding the otter back to his fellows.

A puff of smoke directly behind Corinne caused her eye to flinch and the Oresoren to openly jump, surprised by this sudden appearance of Solon in their cell. He strode past Corinne, who was able to move out of the way, and knelt down, at eye level, with Quppo. His eyes seemed to absorb every aspect of the otter, from his red garb to his feet. "You'll do," he said simply.

"What's going to happen?" Pippo squeaked, sensing that those words held a disturbing amount of malice.

"I believe I will sacrifice him in front of Jay," Solon nodded, affirming his own plan. "If he has any doubts about what he must do, they will disappear."

A horrified murmur rippled through the ranks of the Oresoren. The thought of killing one of them, especially when it was to harm Jay, was nauseating, and a thought that had never meandered through their minds.

"You'll never get away with it," Quppo piped bravely.

"Ah, but I will; you'll see it with your dying breath," Solon smirked. He reached out to pick up his prey, easily manipulating the Oresoren in such a way that he could barely move.

"Good day to you all," Solon smiled, taking a few steps away, preparing to make his exit.

"Master, please wait," Corinne rushed, a sudden, desperate idea taking over her mind.

"Not now, Corinne," Solon said, glaring at her.

"I'll take Quppo's place," Corinne continued, looking up at him before having to look back down, as a wave of dizziness hit her.

"He won't care for your life," Solon sighed. "Your life is worthless."

A murmur of dissent swept through the Oresoren. They had seen Jay's kindness towards Corinne, and although the fact that she was his sister remained a secret, they knew that he, nevertheless, would care about another's life.

"You otters aren't trying to trick me, now, are you?" Solon asked, turning away from Corinne and to the protesting Oresoren, who were now angrily defending Jay's kindness. A convincing "no" was answered, and, shrugging, Solon cruelly tossed Quppo across the cave. He went to his half-conscious apprentice, who was starting to lose her battle with the effects of blood loss, various healing injuries, and a returning fever. With shocking ease, he picked her up, and with the puff of a smoke bomb, both were gone.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

As the Oresoren village was empty and blood-covered, Will had insisted that Jay stay with one of the party. After getting a depressed response of "I'll just stay here," Moses stomped his foot an inch away from Jay's head.

"Jay, that does it, yer sleepin' with me tonight!" he yelled.

"…No, thank you…" Jay muttered, his polite response followed by a mouthed "The very thought makes me ill."

"Well, it's either sleepin' with Senel, Will, or me!" Moses declared.

"JJ, I think you should give in to Red, just this once," Norma observed.

"Fine…" Jay mumbled through gritted teeth, "As long as he leaves me alone."

"I can respect that," Moses said soberly, an amazing amount of sincerity in his words. "I may not like it all too much, but I can do it."

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

When Werites Beacon was reached, Jay followed Moses, eyes glazed over, not aware of the world. He walked into the bandit camp, went to the tent directed towards by Moses, and flopped on his back, letting his mind drift off.

A small tap on his shoulder woke him. For a moment, he did not open his eyes, for fear that this was a midnight visit from Solon. It wasn't until Moses whispered "Jay, you awake?" that he let his annoyance be portrayed through narrowed eyes.

"What is it, stupid bandit? I'm trying to sleep," Jay snapped.

In a surprisingly mature manner, Moses ignored the insult. "I need ya to read somethin'."

"Now?" Jay sighed. "Just read it yourself."

"I can't," Moses said, making Jay blink in momentary surprise. "Besides, I think it's for you," he added quickly, holding up a neatly folded piece of paper, which indeed said "Jay" in complexly scripted letters.

"Wait, that writing," Jay breathed. In an instant, he snatched the paper from Moses' hand, so hasty in his need to read that he didn't think to borrow Moses' candle so he could read it clearly.

"Who is it?" Moses asked, scooting closer to look over Jay's shoulder, consequently shedding light on the paper.

Jay gave him no answer, choosing rather to stand up. "I've got to go," he rushed, giving no time for a response before he rushed out of the tent, letting the paper float to the ground.

Moses sat in the tent, perplexed, staring at the door as though waiting for Jay to return. The candle, although freshly made, was halfway down its wick when he realized what he had to do. Blowing out the candle, he rushed out of the bandit's camp, heading straight for Will's house.


	16. OAF: Stage 3

Author's Note:

In addition to posting this chapter, I have revised the previous chapters as well. Most of the chapters underwent minor changes, for the sake of sentence variety and such; however, I would like to point out that chapters eight and nine (most particularly the end of and beginning of, respectively) have been totally rewritten, save the ultimate consequence of events. Also, I have stopped using American honorifics (Miss, Mister), and gone to Japanese honorifics (-san, -chan, -kun, etc.). Corinne now refers to Jay in chapter nine as "Jay-nii-san", as opposed to simply "big brother". Thank you for reading my stories; I honestly value your reading, and enjoy Bells and Blades!

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

After the fifth frantic barrage of knocks, a still-half-sleeping Will answered the door, making up for his lack of spectacles with a surplus of annoyance at being unceremoniously awakened in the wee hours of the morning. He squinted at Moses, blinked, squinted again, rubbed his eyes with one hand, and yawned.

"What is it, Moses?" he asked, taking no pain to mask his sour mood. "Do you realize what time it is?"

"Jay's gone," Moses told him in reply.

"Gone from where?" Will asked, his fatigue dulling his sense of comprehension. In an instant, his eyes widened.

"Get the others," he said.

A slow and dragging half of an hour snoozed by before seven people sat in Will's living room. With the exception of Norma, who had fallen asleep the moment she sat down on Will's couch, everyone was now in a state of conscience that was undeniably awake; this quick transition undoubtedly aided by the urgency of the matter.

"What's this about Jay disappearing?" Senel asked through one last yawn.

"I'm not sure," Will admitted. "Moses came banging on my door; he should explain."

Understanding that it was his turn to speak, Moses cleared his throat. "I woke Jay up because I found a note addressed to him; he read it and ran off," he explained simply.

"A note, huh?" Senel said. "I'll bet the contents of that note will give us a clue as to where he's going, or why he's disappeared."

"Where's the note now?" Shirley asked.

"He left it at the camp," Moses told her.

"Let's go get it," Shirley declared. Her idea was quickly enacted; although she had to stay behind, as they had found Norma impossible to wake, the rest of those present set off towards the bandit's camp to retrieve the note.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

In the pitch-black night of the open fields of the Legacy, Jay stumbled his way to the nearby duct. He was having surprising difficulty with this task, his tears at the Oresoren village having effectively drained him of his strength. His heavy heart did not alleviate any part of this burden; to him, all semblance of hope, all of the barriers separating from his previous life, had been all but disintegrated. Only one thread holding his past back could be seen in his minds eye: his companions, whom he had learned to trust. The relationships with those seven erens, made by chance, strengthened by time, seemed the last treasured thing of his left. His muscles still ached from crying, weakened from despair, but the emotions drawn from his last untouched treasure filled him with determination; he was able to make the venture to and through the duct to his destination.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Will held the note in his hand, his eyes traveling to and fro across the paper repeatedly, throwing in a small frown on his face every so often. He'd been studying the contents of the paper for several minutes now, periodically answering the impatient queries of Senel and Moses with "hang on, I'm still reading". Grune sat nonchalantly in a corner, playing with a smooth pebble: she was singing to it in lyrics she'd designed herself, while gently rolling it along the floor.

"Will, we can all analyze the note later," Senel pleaded. "We need to know what it says!"

Almost seeming reluctant to do so, Will lowered the note so that it was out of reading distance from his eyes.

"It's a riddle," he announced finally. "I've been trying to solve it, but this note was intended for Jay; there's obviously some mechanism in this tat only he would be able to understand."

"Meaning?" Moses asked.

"Meaning that it'll be hard to figure out where to find him. However, the nature of the riddle does give us a clue: whoever wrote this knows a lot about Jay."

"The only people we know that would know anything about Jay, much less a lot, would be you, Moses, Grune, Norma, Shirley, Chloe, and myself," Senel mused.

"Maybe Chloe wrote it?" Moses pondered. "Y'know, say she came back early, and wanted to have a private word with Jay about something?"

"I doubt it," Will sighed. "As hard to understand as this riddle is, what is clear is that this isn't an entirely friendly message. I doubt Chloe would write something this ominous."

"Everywhere we try to go with this, we hit a dead end," Senel mumbled to himself in annoyance. Raising his voice, he said "Anyway, let's go back to your house, Will. Hopefully Shirley was able to wake Norma up; they could help us."

Another short midnight trek across town rejoined the group with Shirley and Norma, whom had been jolted awake from a loud yell from Moses upon their return. After being told of Will's conclusions about the note in the bandit's camp, the group sat down for a discussion.

"Will," Shirley requested, "could you please read the note? It might help for us to know what the riddle is, if we are to solve it."

"An excellent point," Will agreed. Withdrawing the note from his pocket, where he had stowed it for travel, he cleared his throat and read aloud:

"Your hope lies in the depths of the abyss. In the abyss is the bell tower, from which are ringing echoes of mournful bells. Come to silence the bells, as is your duty. The more speed that you bring to stay the ringing of the bells, the less they will toll. Come to the bell tower, and heed the call of your master."

Solemnly, he looked up from the note, re-folding it as a sign of its completion.

"That made no sense," Moses complained.

"It's a riddle; it shouldn't make immediate sense," Will reminded him.

"What does it mean, "your hope lies in the depths of the abyss"?" Norma wondered.

Shirley closed her eyes, her lips silently repeating the words Norma had said. The others followed suit, putting their minds to work on interpreting the first line of the riddle.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

"Will," Shirley gasped suddenly, not opening her eyes, "do you think it's possible that whoever wrote this note knew about the Oresoren?"

"An excellent deduction, Shirley!" Will praised. "Of course! The "hope" could truly symbolize the hope of a happy life, which Jay had with the Oresoren; meaning that the "abyss" could be how he's feeling right now."

"Smart thinkin', Shirley!" Moses grinned.

"Now, on the assumption that Shirley is correct, I would take the second line's mention of "mournful bells" to mean crying, or something of that sort," Will continued.

"That would make some sense," Senel agreed, "but it would become less and less sensible as the riddle goes on."

"This is true; meaning that there is another meaning to this riddle," Will concluded.

A soft knock on the door interrupted the group's thoughts. A pale band of sunlight was beginning to peek through the windows; a new day was beginning on the Legacy, one that already seemed filled with bleakness. As though in a trance, they stayed, transfixed, staring at this surprisingly foreboding warm light.

The knock sounded again. "Coming," Will called, springing from his place on the couch. Jerking the door open with more force than had been intended, he found himself face-to-face with a surprised Chloe.

"I'm sorry for calling so early in the morning," she apologized quickly, mistaking the shocked and serious tones of Will's expression to be her fault. "The boat arrived unusually early; I was thinking it would be best if I let you know."

Noticing that the faces of her friends, which bore the same type of expression as Will, were peeking tentatively at the door from the living room, Chloe's apologetic attitude darkened.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.


	17. OAF: Stage 4

"Is something wrong?" Norma repeated Chloe's inquiry, the current state of panic disabling any rational conclusion as to why she would ask such a thing. Bursting out of the living room and somehow managing to nearly knock Will over at the door, she grasped Chloe's shoulders with quivering hands, staring with wild eyes.

"What happened?" Chloe demanded with a start; Norma's clear lack of composure distressed her. If Norma was acting panicked, then something was not only wrong, but completely, totally, and utterly horrifically wrong.

Prying Norma off of Chloe, Will gave her an apologetic smile. "Things have become rather hectic while you were away. I think it would be best if you came inside."

Needless to say, Chloe readily agreed, and crossed the threshold of an abnormally tense area, steeling herself for news of the most traumatic natures she could imagine.

Aska had drawn Rem's great chariot of the Sun well into midmorning by the time Chloe had been briefed on the incidents during her absence.

"Jay's gone missing, and this note is our only clue to finding out where he's gone?" Chloe summarized, making sure that she had heard the incredible story correctly.

"That's about the size of it!" Norma chirped.

"Size, size, size!" Grune echoed complacently.

Chloe leaned over the living room table, where the note was spread out, subjected to incessant scrutinizing. "Where is there a bell tower?"

Senel sighed. "Nowhere nearby."

From the kitchen, Will carried in a tray of snacks to sustain the beleaguered impromptu detectives. Using it as a partition, produced a small, neatly folded sheet of paper from his pocket, which opened up to reveal a poor-quality, tourist-grade map of the Legacy. Already, the effort of mere hours' work was etched into the surface: a few diagrams and annotations accompanied the original printing. A patch of sea in the corner of the map bore a reproduction of the riddle; "abyss" and "bell tower" were listed below. Werites Point and Port-on-Rage both had notations stating that they had been checked for the implied characteristics, and that any and all suspect locations had been thoroughly searched.

With the map spread out on one part of the table and the note the other, Will directed. "Try to find a connection."

The silence of searching was soon broken. "What's an abyss?" Moses asked, to the complete astonishment and dismay of everyone.

"It's a giant hole, Red," Norma sighed. "Kind of like—"

She fell silent. Grinning, Moses slammed his finger down on the map, beaming with the realization that he had somehow managed to think faster than his peers.

"If only Jay were here to see this!" he yelled jubilantly, pounding his finger for emphasis on the aerial view of the Great Hollow.

- - - - - - - - - - - -

Alone, the yawning pit of the Great Hollow was daunting. It was as though a giant, primordial being had frozen in time, patiently waiting for the opportune moment in which to snatch its prey.

_An accurate analogy_, Jay conceded glumly. He gazed, bleary eyed, into the depths; more from emotional distress than physical fatigue, his stamina was massively compromised. Searching the great chasm was not a concept to his body's liking.

_Where in the Hollow could they be_? he pondered slowly. Obviously, Solon would not have placed them near the top; it would be far from his normal _modus operandi_ to carry out an operation where a stray traveler could wander. Instead, he would head to the shadows, leaving not only the bottom of the Great Hollow but the layers of suspended terrain as possibilities. Considering he could see all of the very top, and it was evident that no one besides him was occupying the small stony stretch before the venerable elevator, that left a considerable space to scour.

Experience had long since told him that procrastinating on a task only worsened the consequences. With the lives of his sister and his Oresoren family in the balance, the point was strengthened. Ignoring physical strain, he walked onto the great elevator and pressed the button to descend.

The grey of dawn muted the tangled maze below, a vivid complex of vibrant corals, dainty pinks, and valiant vermilions. The shapes of leaves and flowers, seemingly frozen in time by the breath of another era, wove before him, intimidating in their early morning pallor.

_The others will still be sleeping_, he thought, silently wishing to be with them. Compared to the crisis at hand, sharing a tent with Moses seemed the most wonderful privilege. _I wonder how they will react when they realize I'm gone?_

Shaking his head to clear it of other matters, he took a tentative step forward. The amplified gloom in the Great Hollow was a clear disadvantage, making it increasingly potent for an ambush. That the sun was soon to rise, restoring the area to its vibrant, arcane liveliness, made now the most opportune window for such a maneuver. If he was to proceed, he needed his wits about him, not straying for a moment. His next lapse in concentration could be his last.

Slowly, savoring the steps barring him from the oncoming abyss, praying the sun would provide more illumination than was present, he crept cautiously to the elevator. To his chagrin, but not his surprise, a miraculous improvement in lighting did not occur.

_It can't be helped_. He would have to cope with the visibility impairment.

His fingers deftly pressed a button on the coral-colored platform. With a demure whirring noise, the ancient Radiant elevator came to life.

- - - - - - - - - -

"Thank you, come again."

The sweet, obliviously smiling shopkeeper combed the gald to her side of the counter, trading it for small mountains of little wobbly gels and an assortment of bottles. Will smiled back, a perfect façade in the face of danger. His purchased stash quickly made its way to a secure cranny, out of sight and reach to others.

Three steps into the outdoors, dawn creaking slowly in its own waking lethargy, he was accosted by the remainder of his party. Thrown into a near frenzy by the apparent panic of their comrade, tension like that before a great battle had set in. Will's suggestion to stop for supplies, delaying them by five minutes, had caused an uproar.

"Finally, you're back!" Norma exploded.

"We can go now," Will said.

"It's about time!" she continued, ignoring the fact that Will had bypassed the conversation. "We have to find JJ! We don't have time to go shopping."

"Yes, we do," Will chided. "While it's true Jay may find himself in danger, and haste is necessary, we should not simply rush in. What if this turns into a rescue mission? What if we have to fight? Coming late and prepared for the worst is better than coming on time without backup. We don't know what we're getting into."

"We're ready for anything!" Grune sang. "Charge!"

"She's right, guys," Senel said. "Whether or not we could afford this stop, it's done. We have to find Jay, and now."

Everyone nodded. Without another word, they set off at a jog to the duct, where Jay awaited in the Great Hollow.


End file.
